Gershon retires from the Office of Government Commerce

Successor picked from inside

John Oughton is to replace Sir Peter Gershon as chief executive of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC).

The OGC is the government office in charge of revamping government procurement policy. It's the department in charge of the open source trials with IBM and Sun.

Chancellor Gordon Brown said Oughton is a "worthy successor". He thanked Gershon, saying he had made the OGC a "key driver in public sector reform". And welcomed his decision to remain involved with the office in a non-executive role.

Mr Oughton has been Sir Peter's deputy for a year and will take the helm on 1 April. ®