Barratt has appointed David Pretty as group chief executive following the death of Frank Eaton in a road accident on October 7. Pretty, 57, has been group md since 1998. &amp;“Our objective is to build upon the strong legacy left by Frank Eaton,&amp;” he said. &amp;“He was a great team builder and has left behind an extremely strong, well-equipped management team which is more than capable of maintaining our track record of consistent success. <p></p><p>&amp;“We are in excellent shape and our corporate objectives and values will remain unchanged. We are determined to build upon our past achievements to maintain our leadership within the housebuilding industry.&amp;”</p><p>Pretty, an economics graduate, first joined Barratt in 1976. After a three-year stint with St George from 1987, he rejoined Barratt&amp;’s main board as group marketing director. Promotion to chairman of the southern region in 1991 followed, and this has since become the group&amp;’s most successful region.</p><p>Charles Toner takes up the position of non-executive group chairman. Toner, a former deputy chief executive of Abbey National, was appointed vice chairman in June. The Group&amp;’s postponed AGM will be held on December 3. Barratt has just delivered record profits of &amp;£220 million.</p><p></p>