Retail veteran Roger Corbett has been appointed chairman of pharmaceutical company Mayne Pharma Ltd. He joined the drug firm’s board in November 2010 and accepted the position on Thursday.

Mr Corbett is also director of the Reserve Bank of Australia, a director of Wal-Mart Stores, chairman of Fairfax Media Ltd and deputy chairman of PrimeAg Australia Ltd.

He has been involved in the retail industry for more than 40 years. In 1984, he joined the board of David Jones Australia as a director of operations and in 1990 was appointed to the board of Woolworths Ltd and to the position of managing director of BigW. In 1999, he was appointed chief executive officer of Woolworths, from which he retired in 2006.

Mayne Pharma chief executive Roger Aston said the pharmaceutical firm was "delighted" Mr Corbett took the chairmanship.

"In addition to the valuable support that he will provide the board and me, we will also now comply with best practice corporate governance by separating the CEO and chairman's roles,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Mr Corbett said he was "looking forward to leading the board at a time of significant change and working closely with Dr Aston to take the company through the next important stages of its evolution".