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Rentokil Initial appointed Dr John McAdam as chairman, Alan Brown as chief executive and Andy Ransom as executive director, corporate development.

Together with Andrew Macfarlane, the chief financial officer, and other members of the senior management team, they will form a new senior leadership team for the Rentokil Initial group.

It also announced the resignations of chairman Brian McGowan and chief executive Doug Flynn with immediate effect.

Dr John McAdam was until recently the chief executive of ICI plc. He joined ICI following its acquisition of Unilever's Specialty Chemicals Companies in 1997.

In 1998 he was appointed chairman and chief Executive of ICI Paints and elected to the board of ICI before being appointed chief executive of the group in 2003. Before joining ICI, McAdam spent 24 years with Unilever where he held a number of senior management positions.

During his tenure as chief executive, ICI's market capitalisation rose by over 600 per cent. This was achieved as a result of the implementation of a highly focused and successful turnaround strategy, consisting of a comprehensive programme of operational improvement across ICI's portfolio of businesses, as well as portfolio and financial restructuring.

At the time of its sale to Akzo Nobel, ICI operated in 50 countries around the world, employing 26,000 staff.

Alan Brown was appointed chief financial officer of ICI plc in 2005. He previously spent 25 years with Unilever where he held numerous senior management positions, both operational and financial, most recently as executive chairman, Unilever China and Hong Kong.

In his time at ICI as well as leading the finance function, he played a central role in the on-going implementation of its operational strategy.

Andy Ransom joined ICI plc in 1987 and has held various positions as a senior lawyer and head of the mergers and acquisitions team. In 2005 he was appointed to the executive management team as executive vice president, mergers & acquisitions, general counsel and company secretary.

He also has operational responsibility for ICI's regional and industrial division. During his career with ICI he has also spent several years working in its businesses in the US and Canada.

Alan Brown will take up his position as chief executive on 1 April 2008 and Andy Ransom will become an executive director and join the board with effect from 1 May 2008.

Subject to approval by shareholders, Dr John McAdam will join the board of the company as chairman immediately after the company's AGM on 14 May 2008.

Until the AGM, Peter Long, Rentokil's senior independent director, will fulfil the duties of chairman.

Long said: "John, Alan and Andy's track records speak for themselves. I am in no doubt that their proven skills, in particular the operational and strategic rigour which they applied so successfully to the remarkable turnaround at ICI will be brought to bear, alongside those of the existing Rentokil Initial team, on the many and complex issues facing the group."

"With today's announcement, and the recent appointment of our new non-executive directors, Richard Burrows and William Rucker, we now have a team in place which I am convinced has the right combination of skills to lead Rentokil Initial forward over the next few years," he concluded.

Dr McAdam said, "There are many challenges ahead, but I am delighted to be joining the Rentokil Initial board and am excited at the prospect of working together with the wider Rentokil Initial team to deliver a turnaround in the fortunes of the business."

Brown added, "My focus will be on driving operational excellence across all the Rentokil Initial businesses. I believe the existing portfolio is a good basis on which to build a very successful company. I look forward to working with all of the group's employees to build a truly great business."

McAdam will receive an annual fee of £350,000 and no bonus, whilst Brown and Ransom will be paid £775,000 and £450,000 a year respectively with a chance to make up to 100 per cent of their salary in additional bonuses.

Rentokil Initial (LSE:RTO) is one of the largest business services companies in the world, operating in all the major economies o  Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa.

The company provides a wide range of support services in over 49 countries and employs over 77,000 people. Services include textiles and washroom services, pest control, interior plants and artwork, parcels delivery and facilities services.

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