(Bloomberg) -- Britain's incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson hired pay-TV broadcaster Sky Ltd.'s Chief Operating Officer Andrew Griffith as his senior business adviser, giving him the job of improving the government's relations with U.K. companies.
Griffith will start on Wednesday, as soon as Johnson officially replaces Theresa May, according to an internal Sky memo seen by Bloomberg. A 20-year veteran of the company, Griffith most recently helped handle its $39 billion takeover by Comcast Corp.
Johnson is looking to bolster his credentials with Britain's business community, which is concerned about the potential damage of a no-deal Brexit and was stung when he reportedly said “F*** business” after being prodded on the Brexit needs of U.K. employers.
In recent weeks Johnson has been using Griffith's London townhouse as a base as he prepares to enter No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence. Griffith, who is also a board member of food delivery firm Just Eat Plc, has previous ties with the Conservative Party, unsuccessfully standing for parliament in both 2001 and 2005.
The appointment was first reported by the Financial Times.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, John Bowker
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