The University for Industry has announced the appointment of Sir Anthony Greener as chairman. He is currently UfI's vice-chairman, and will take over the role of chair from Lord Dearing, who is in the process of reducing his work commitments.

Sir Anthony is currently chairman of Diageo plc, the international food and drinks group. He will take up post on 1 June and will be retiring from Diageo on 30 June.

Dr Ian Johnston, principal and vice-chancellor at Glasgow Caledonian University, will replace Sir Anthony as vice-chairman. Dr Johnston has served on UfI Ltd’s board since March 1999 and will take up his new position on 1 June.

Both positions are part-time and unpaid.

In the last week, UfI have also announced that learndirect opened its second helpline based in Leicester on 17 April, doubling existing capacity. The service complements that already open in Manchester, and is expected to provide information and advice on all aspects of lifelong learning to 1.7 million callers annually.