The writing and brand language consultancy, The Writer, has appointed former managing director of Sainsbury's, Stuart Mitchell, as its first ever chairman.

Mitchell will take on responsibility for approving The Writer's business plan, strategy, budget and targets in the role, and will meet with company's board regularly to monitor the business against those targets. 

Prior to joining The Writer, Mitchell was group CEO at SIG plc, a FTSE 250 specialist distributor of insulation and energy management, which has annual sales of more than £2.5 billion and 9,000 employees worldwide. 

Mitchell has also held the role of CEO at the £1.5bn retail chain Wilkinson and prior to this was managing director at Sainsbury's, where he joined as a graduate trainee in 1981. 

Mitchell is also a passionate supporter of upcoming business talent, and since 2011 has been chairman at Enactus UK, which mentors students and promotes entrepreneurialism across the globe. 

Mitchell says, "During the 18 years I spent at Sainsbury's, I would've bitten someone's hand off if they'd offered me the sort of training The Writer provides. I've seen how better communication can shape the culture of an organisation, keep customers happy and ultimately help businesses make and save money. Creating better language and content across all brand communications within one agency is a pretty powerful proposition and I'm looking forward to working with the company to help it realise its great potential."

Jim Horsley, CEO at The Writer, says, "Stuart has managed huge businesses and has such extensive experience that there's almost no issue The Writer will face without him being able to offer valuable wisdom and advice. We're looking forward to working with him to realise our ambitions over the years ahead."