Former chief executive officer of the Norwich department store Jarrold, Minnie Moll, has been appointed as the new head of the Design Council.

Ms Moll was made redundant from Jarrold last August after the store cut 20pc of its workforce because of Covid.

She is now taking up the post in March of chief executive officer at independent charity The Design Council, based in London.

The Design Council, set up by Churchill's government to aid post-war recovery, issued a statement, saying: "Minnie is a highly experienced chief executive with a strong creative design and commercial background.

"She will lead Design Council at an exciting time in its history, championing the role of design especially within government."

Eastern Daily Press: Minnie Moll, former boss of Jarrold.Minnie Moll, former boss of Jarrold. (Image: Archant)

Having graduated with a creative arts degree, Ms Moll first worked in advertising, design, innovation and strategic consultancy.

Terry Tyrell, chairman of Design Council’s board of trustees, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Minnie to the Design Council team. She brings with her a wealth of experience, and an excellent track record of purpose driven leadership and building strong organisational cultures."

Ms Moll said: “I’m so delighted to be joining Design Council. ‘Making life better by design’ is such an inspiring purpose and it couldn’t be more relevant than now, as we rebuild from the impact of coronavirus.

"Many people are talking about ‘building back better’ but we will only do that if we put great design thinking at the heart of what we do.

"Facing the pandemic has been challenging but also a time of incredible entrepreneurial spirit, collaboration and agility. If we can harness that positive energy it will multiply what we can achieve.

"I’m really looking forward to working with, and learning from, such a diverse and dynamic team and our many partners and stakeholders. I will be asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of listening to make sure I can be the best possible champion for the value that great design adds to the UK economy and all our lives, in so many ways.”

Ms Moll is succeeding Sarah Weir OBE, who stepped down as Design Council’s chief executive officer in October 2020 due to ill health.