Countryside Properties plc announced that John Martin joins the group's board as Non-Executive Chair Designate and will succeed David Howell as Non-Executive Chair on May 1, 2021. David Howell will step down from the board on April 30, 2021. This follows the company’s announcement on December 3, 2020 of David Howell's intention to stand down as Chair of the company during 2021. John brings extensive leadership and capital allocation experience in operations, finance, and capital markets, having served at Ferguson plc, for over nine years to November 2019, most recently as Group Chief Executive Officer and prior to that as Group Chief Financial Officer. During his tenure, Ferguson was significantly simplified and strengthened, substantially improved its market positions, and generated excellent returns for shareholders. Before joining Ferguson, John was a partner at Alchemy Partners, and prior to that was Chief Financial Officer of Travelex plc and Hays plc. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Ocado plc, where he serves on the Nomination and Audit Committees.