Chocolate maker Thorntons unveiled a new chairman as Mr John Thornton prepared to step aside after 38 years at the firm of his name.
Mr Thornton joined the family company in 1966 and was its chairman and chief executive between 1987 and 1995 before becoming executive chairman.
He will hand over the post to Mr Chris Burnett, who is chairman of paving and patio products group Marshalls. Mr Thornton, who is 60 this year, will retain ties to the company as he will become a non-executive director.
The retirement of Mr Thornton marks the end of an era at the board of Thorntons, which was founded by Mr Joseph William Thornton in 1911.
Although the company floated on the stock market in 1988, the presence of Mr John Thornton ensured the family maintained a day-to-day involvement.
Earlier this year Mr Thornton oversaw the bid process after the Derbyshire-based company's management team expressed an interest in taking the business private. Those talks eventually came to nothing.