The appointment comes after the resignations of chief executive Kevin Abbott and finance director Heather McRae, after weeks of turmoil following the request by the board on April 25 for a temporary suspension in the listing of its shares.
The company's auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, withdrew their approval of preliminary results for the year ended January 31 in connection with enquiries into a series of related transactions connected to a major contract awarded to the company during the financial year.
Williams said: 'The company has gone through a challenging time over the past few weeks. My first objective is to get things settled and get to know the business. There are lots of opportunities for the group in both retail and the airline catering business.'
Alpha operates more than 200 retail outlets at 77 airports in 15 countries.
Williams said he hopes to use the retail expertise he gained at Selfridges to bring a consumer perspective to Alpha Airports Group. He has worked in retail for more than 20 years - firstly at Freemans catalogue and then for Selfridges as finance director before becoming chief executive of the department store. He left Selfridges in 2004 following its sale.
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