Norris Comes Aboard As Chairman At Virgin

LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Sir Richard Branson has appointed former Barings Bank CEO Peter Norris as the new non executive chairmain of the board at the Virgin Group.

According to the London Times, the two men have been friends for some time and Norris has reportedly provided advice for Branson on a number of Virgin's projects.

Norris will start on November 9th and will advise the senior management team which is currently led by Virgin's CEO Stephen Murphy.

Prior to joining Virgin, Norris was the CEO of merchant bank Quayle Munro and the private equity firm New Boathouse Capital. More famously, Norris, as CEO, presided over the collapse of the 230 year old Barings Bank, which collapsed in 1995 after trader Nick Leeson led the bank to £827 million in losses on high risk derivatives trading.

"I am delighted to be welcoming Peter to the team as non-executive Chairman. He has worked with me and our senior management for many years and we have always found his advice invaluable. He is both a highly skilled banker and an experienced entrepreneur and that is a rare mix!" said Sir Branson in a statement.