Top 50 Indie Motor Fuel Group (MFG) has appointed former Tesco director Richard Baker to the new position of retail director.

Baker had a 37-year career with Tesco, after joining them in 1978 as a part-time student. He quickly progressed through the business in the UK, Northern Ireland and overseas, and his final position was as managing director of Tesco’s 800 UK superstores with annual sales of £14bn.

He left Tesco to pursue a new challenge, and immediately prior to joining MFG, he has spent the last year in America as a retail consultant with the Egremont Group assisting with a business transformation project for Walgreens, which is one of the biggest pharmacy/convenience operators in USA with 8,200 stores.

William Bannister, chief executive officer of MFG, said: “This is a key appointment for us as MFG drives ahead with strengthening its retail offering. In this new role Richard will be responsible for the retail relationships with suppliers and driving the performance of sites while refining our retail, customer service and product proposition.”

MFG is ranked second in the Top 50 Indies with 374 company owned forecourts.