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Halfords has announced the appointment of Jo Hartley as its new executive director and chief financial officer (CFO).
Hartley will join the business in mid-April 2022 and replace Loraine Woodhouse in the role, who is set to retire from her full-time role in the business.
Woodhouse will however remain in post until the group’s FY22 preliminary results in June 2022 in order to ensure a smooth handover. After that, she will step down from her role and pass her responsibilities to Hartley.
Hartley joins Halfords from Virgin Active, where she has been group CFO since 2015. She began her career at Deloitte UK, before moving to Tesco in 1999. Here, she held a number of roles, including finance director for convenience stores, operations and then property for Tesco UK, before spending time as CFO of Tesco Poland and latterly leading the finance function for Tesco UK as interim finance director.
Keith Williams, chairman of Halfords, said: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to be welcoming someone of Jo’s calibre to Halfords. Her experience and expertise will be invaluable as we look to build on the strong momentum within the business, while also navigating our way through the current challenges and uncertainties of the wider trading environment.
“I would also like to express the Board’s thanks to Loraine for her commitment, professionalism and dedication to Halfords during her time at the Group; I’m sure she will do well as she pursues a non-executive career.”
Hartley added: “Halfords is a great business with a strong brand proposition and I am excited about the prospect of helping the Group achieve its ambitious plans in the strategically important areas of motoring services, digital and B2B.
“I am looking forward to getting started and to working with the team on the many initiatives that are currently underway across the business.”
Loraine Woodhouse, outgoing CFO, concluded: “I have very much enjoyed my time as Halfords’ CFO but, after much deliberation, have decided that the time is right for me to step down from a full-time plc role, allowing me to pursue non-executive opportunities whilst also spending more time with family.
“I wish Jo all the very best as my successor and am pleased to be leaving Halfords in a strong position from which to execute its service-led growth strategy.”
