Rentokil brings in Murray as CFO

Michael Murray has been appointed as Rentokil's CFO-in-waiting, replacing Andrew Macfarlane.

Murray will officially become a director and CFO of the pest control giant from 5 January 2009 and Macfarlane will stay on for a period to ensure a smooth handover.

News of Macfarlane's departure came a surprise to investors because no mention was made of it when chief executive Alan Brown delivered a third quarter results presentation earlier this month, which detailed a 73% drop in Q3 profits.

Alan Brown said: 'I am delighted that Michael Murray will be joining the company. Michael's operational skills and experience will make a significant contribution to Rentokil Initial's Operational Excellence agenda.'

Murray joins from GSL, a private equity owned support services company, recently acquired by G4S. Prior to that was chief financial officer of TNT Express, TNT's global express parcels division.