Sir Mick Davis been appointed chief executive officer of the Conservative Party.
The former Jewish Leadership Council chairman’s new post was confirmed on Tuesday and he has been told he has “a wide-ranging brief to undertake improvements" to the party's "personnel, campaigning techniques and systems”.
In a signal that the Prime Minister has recognised there is much to do to improve the fortunes of her party after the dire general election result, Mrs May confirmed Sir Mick’s appointment saying in a statement: “I am delighted that Sir Mick has agreed to take on this important role.
“The party will benefit from his entrepreneurial and leadership skills as he works with the team at Conservative Campaign Headquarters to make the improvements that we need, now and for the future.”
South African-born Sir Mick, who stood down from the JLC in March, was appointed Tory Party treasurer in February 2016.
He has long been a donor to the party and received a knighthood for his work chairing the former Prime Minister David Cameron's Holocaust Commission in 2015.
Sir Mike, said to have earned a reported £75million when he left mining firm Xstrata as it was taken over in 2013, is also a former UJIA leader.
He had announced his departure as chairman of the JLC with a broad attack on British Jewry’s communal infrastructure, describing it as“not fit for purpose”.
Sir Mick said the community had too many charities competing for limited resources.
He had been in the role for eight years and overseen the significant expansion of the organisation.
Conservative Party Chairman Patrick McLoughlin said: “Whilst the result two weeks ago is not the one we had hoped for, we did secure 42 per cent of the vote and the highest vote share for the Conservative Party since 1983.
“Senior team appointments, including Sir Mick as Chief Executive Officer, will ensure the Party machinery continues not only to support our campaigning operation, but also to take the fight to Labour and the other opposition parties in the years ahead.”
