Harvey Norman on Wednesday added a new independent non-executive director to the board.

John Craven, a former partner at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), joined the retailer’s board, effective March 27.

This marks the retailer’s first appointment of an independent director in several years,  following more than a year of pressure from shareholders and the Australian Shareholders Association to add new faces.

In 2017, then ASA monitor Allan Goldin said directors shouldn’t stay on boards for too many years because they “start to identify too much with the company and executives and stop looking at it from a shareholders’ perspective.”

Gerry Harvey, the chairman of Harvey Norman, said in a statement that the new director would further strengthen the board’s mix of skills, knowledge and experience.

“John has advised and assisted a number of organisations in the private and public sectors to harness and govern technology and digital investments,” he said.

Craven has been actively involved with innovation and growth particularly in technology empowered industries for the past 20 years. He is chair of Specialisterne Australia, which is part of a global not for profit organisation working to enable one million jobs for people on the autism spectrum, and is a member of the global board of the Specialisterne Foundation, based in Denmark.

He is also a member of the board of Social Venture Partners Melbourne, a philanthropic investment