Karen Mackay appointed Wilko CFO

Wilko has announced the appointment of Karen Mackay as group chief financial officer and executive board director.

Mackay joins Wilko from Optegra International Limited where she has been group chief financial officer for the last five years.  

She will succeed Alex Russo, who was appointed CFO and executive director of B&M.

She will be accountable for Wilko’s finance, IT, corporate services, health and safety and loss prevention functions. Mackay is also Wilkos first permanent female CFO and the first permanent female holding board director from outside of the Wilkinson family.

Lisa Wilkinson, Wilko family director, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Karen. She strengthens our senior team with not just financial leadership but a proven track record in delivering significant strategic change both within and outside a family business context.” 

 Mackay added: “My family and my home are extremely important to me and as a family owned business that’s been meeting customers’ home and garden needs for 90 years, I couldn’t be in better company at Wilko.”

Following Wilko’s return to a CEO leadership model and Jerome Saint-Marc’s appointment as CEO at the start of 2020 this significant appointment completes the Wilko holding board which as well as Jerome and Karen comprises; family director Lisa Wilkinson and non-executive directors Dalton Philips and Chris Martin.

Saint-Marc said: “I’m looking forward to working with Karen. We are excited about the next stage of our journey to free up hard working families to be the best they can be.  

“Despite a challenging backdrop we are focused on driving growth through building on our heritage, the strength of the Wilko brand and the popularity of Wilko own brand products.”