The Institute of Customer Service has announced the appointment of Graham Heald as a non-executive director.
Mr Heald is the retail and distribution director for Homebase, and previously he was retail services director for Waitrose.

"I'm looking forward to working with the board to help establish the Institute as the leading authority on customer service," he said. "Customer service is now seen as a critical driver of sustainable business growth for organisations across many sectors and the Institute provides an invaluable platform to spread insight and best practice across sectors."

Chairman of the Institute, Mary Chapman, commented: "We are delighted that Graham has agreed to join the Institute's board. His knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for customer service will further shape our strategic direction to support organisations to deliver excellent customer service."

Institute CEO Jo Causon, added: "Graham has been a great supporter of the Institute for many years and I'm delighted that he has accepted the offer to join our board as a non-executive. He has a wealth of experience that will help ensure our services and products satisfy market requirements."