The newest Harvey Norman director joins the board as an independent non-executive voice.

John Craven was formerly a partner at Accenture. He joined the retailer’s board on 27 March 2019.

Craven is the first independent director appointment in several years.  The appointment follows concerns about the lack of new blood on the Harvey Norman board.

In 2017 the Australian Shareholders Association’s protested over the board’s failure to add new directors.

The shareholder body claimed the retailer had no truly independent directors as its two independent directors had been on the board for more than 12 years.

New Harvey Norman director

Gerry Harvey, the chairman of Harvey Norman, said in a statement that the new director would further strengthen the board’s mix of skills, knowledge and experience.

“John has advised and assisted a number of organisations in the private and public sectors to harness and govern technology and digital investments,” he said.

Craven has been actively involved with innovation and growth particularly in technology empowered industries for the past 20 years.