Britain’s largest pub chain JD Wetherspoon has appointed two employees to its board in response to criticisms of its corporate governance. Four out of about 100 managers of Spoons pubs were chosen after shareholders and employees said it would “benefit from having more pub experience at board level”, the company said on Monday.
Debbie Whittingham, a regional manager for the West Midlands, and Hudson Simmons, area manager for Sheffield, will join the board, while another two will be “associate employee directors”. Tim Martin, Wetherspoon’s founder and chairman, has previously lashed out at those who have criticised the company’s corporate governance in lengthy letters published on the stock market’s news service.