LONDON: British postal operator Royal Mail on Monday appointed a former manager of Britain's controversial coronavirus tracing app as its new chief executive.

The former state-run group, which has been under interim leadership since the resignation last year of chief executive Rico Back, said Simon Thompson had taken on the role with immediate effect.

Thompson was formerly managing director of the coronavirus Test and Trace app, which is used by Britain's National Health Service, but has been heavily criticised for failing to prevent surging infection rates.

He has, meanwhile, been a non-executive director of Royal Mail for more than three years, while the company sees his tech background as key to helping turn around the group's fortunes.

Royal Mail interim chief Keith Williams pointed to Thompson's "wealth of experience, both in digital transformation and customer experience, and is ideally placed to lead" growth of the company's UK parcels business.

Thompson, a former executive at online supermarket Ocado, said Royal Mail needed to "develop a razor-sharp focus on the customer... and we need to explore new opportunities for growth".

An inability to quickly turn around the core letters business was a factor behind Back's departure in May.

His exit after less than two years in the role came also after union bosses accused the company of being slow to provide protective equipment such as masks, gloves and sanitiser to workers at the start of the outbreak.

Royal Mail in November said revenue from parcel deliveries has for the first time overtaken that from letters in the wake of the virus outbreak.

The company's employees have enjoyed elevated status during the coronavirus pandemic thanks to their key role in delivering virus test kits and helping businesses survive the economic fallout.