Morrisons has appointed two new regional operations directors in former Aldi buying director Vicki Reay and ex Tesco convenience director John McAlpine.

Reay, who is the first woman to become a regional director at the retailer and has previously worked as commercial director at Spar, will manage the south east, while McAlpine has responsibility for the north.

They will both report to Morrisons group retail director Gary Mills alongside operations directors Miles Foster and Darren Hunter.

The news comes as Morrisons said it has made 15 new appointments to regional management including boosting the number of women in retail leadership team from one to seven.

Clare Grainger, Morrisons group people director, said: 'We have appointed the most talented retail team on the market with the aim of the making core supermarkets strong again.

“We are also pleased that our retail management team is becoming more representative of our largely-female colleague and customer base.'