Nisa Retail chairman Christopher Baker is to step down after the company’s AGM on 29 September.

He will be succeeded on an interim basis by Peter Hartley, who has been an independent non-executive director of Nisa since December 2012 and currently chairs the organisation’s audit committee. The board will announce the process for the appointment of a new non-executive chairman at the AGM.

Baker has been chairman since January 2013 but was facing opposition to the continuation of his term from a disaffected faction within the Nisa membership.

One Nisa retailer, who asked not to be named, told C-Store: “He was not listening to the members, and wasted a lot of money on things that we didn’t want.

“Let’s hope we can now move forward and make the company a big success in the future.”

In an official statement Baker said: “Nisa has been stabilised after a challenging few years, and I am confident that the foundations are in place for it to capitalise on its potential. I have greatly enjoyed my time at Nisa, but believe the company and its members now need a new chairman with a fresh mandate from the shareholders to take the business forward.”

Hartley added: “I would like to thank Chris for all his hard work and dedication to Nisa, where he has provided strong leadership through some challenging times.”

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