LONDON, Feb 7 — British construction firm Taylor Wimpey today promoted Jennie Daly to the post of chief executive, becoming only the ninth current FTSE 100 company to be led by a woman.

Taylor Wimpey, which faces costly cladding repairs to many of its apartment blocks after the deadly 2017 Grenfell Tower fire hit the construction sector, said Daly would replace Pete Redfern in April.

Daly, currently Taylor Wimpey’s chief operating officer, will be paid £750,000 (RM4.1 million) per year, plus potential millions more annually in performance-related bonuses.

"It is an honour and privilege,” Daly said in a statement, adding that the group was "strongly positioned to deliver sustainable sector-leading growth and returns”.

Daly becomes also the first woman to head up a UK housebuilding company.

The FTSE 100 comprises Britain’s biggest-listed companies but less than 10 per cent of the total have a woman CEO even with Daly’s appointment.

Alison Rose heads NatWest bank, Emma Walmsley leads pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and Jette Nygaard-Andersen is chief executive of gambling group Entain.

Several large UK companies, including BP and Unilever, are backing an initiative to increase the share of female FTSE 100 CEOs to 25 per cent by 2025. — AFP