After months of announcing that executives and directors are leaving the company, Thorn Group yesterday informed the market that it had hired a chief executive. Peter Lirantzis will take over the role in February, replacing Tim Luce, who quit in August. Lirantzis was most recently chief operating officer and co-chief executive of FlexiGroup. Three of the company's directors (chair David Foster plus Belinda Gibson and Andrew Stevens) are leaving the company. Former Aristocrat Leisure chief executive Paul Oneile has joined the board as an independent non-executive director. Oneile is chair of A2B Australia (formerly Cabcharge). The Thorn Group board started a strategic review of the business in April, in the wake of a string of regulatory and legal problems and weaker business performance. Last month, the company agreed to pay A$25 million to settle a class action over a claim that its "Rent Try $1 Buy" promotion was misleading and deceptive. The settlement was the latest in a series of payouts by Thorn to in response to issues with its business practices.