April 22 (Reuters) - Pearson Plc said on Thursday Chairman Sidney Taurel intends to retire and step down from the board, weeks after its new chief executive laid out a new growth plan for the education group to directly target consumers.

The London-listed company said Taurel would step down no later than its 2022 annual general meeting, adding that board member Tim Score would be leading the process to appoint Taurel's successor.

Taurel, 71, was appointed as Pearson's chair in 2016 and is currently also on the board of U.S. tech firm International Business Machines Corp. His decades-long career spans several industries, including being the chief executive of drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co for 10 years until 2008.

"With good initial progress being made on the execution of (Pearson's new) strategy I believe this year is the right time to conduct a search for a new Chair for Pearson's next chapter," Taurel said in a statement.

Launched in the 1840s as a construction company, Pearson has reinvented itself several times over the decades, and is now seeking to navigate the shift from analogue to digital learning.

Former Walt Disney Co executive Andy Bird was hired as Pearson's CEO in October last year to bring his digital skills to the British company. In March, he unveiled his plans for the education group to grow beyond schools and colleges. (Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)