People Moves
People Moves tracks leadership changes, senior appointments, and executive reshuffles across the UK retail industry. This section reports on new hires, promotions, and departures within major retail groups, suppliers, and service providers. Retail Sector’s People Moves coverage offers insight into how talent strategy and leadership dynamics influence company direction, governance, and performance — providing retail professionals with an up-to-date view of the industry’s key decision-makers.
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Jan- 2020 -23 January
Mothercare CEO steps down
Mothercare has announced that Mark Newton-Jones has stepped down as CEO of the retailer, effective today (22 January). He will continue as an executive director until July 2020, as the group works to complete its “transformation plan”. Newton-Jones also agreed to act as a non-executive director following this. The group…
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22 January
Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe to retire after six years
Sainsbury’s has announced its CEO Mike Coupe is set to retire this year, after almost six years in the role. He will continue his role as CEO until the end of May and will be succeeded by retail and operations director Simon Roberts, who will start his new role from…
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7 January
Kingfisher appoints new chief customer and digital officer
Kingfisher has appointed Jean-Jacques Van Oosten as its new chief customer and digital officer. Van Oosten joins Kingfisher from The LegoGroup, where he held the role of chief digital officer. He has also held positions at REWE, Travis Pekins, Tesco and Kingfisher, where he was group IT director from 2005…
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3 January
More than a quarter of retail staff look for new job in January
New research has found that nearly 30% of employees in retail customer service roles are most likely to look for a new job in January, due to a “seasonal slump” in engagement and motivation. The survey by quality assurance improvement platform, EvaluAgent, found that 38% of retail customer service staff…
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Dec- 2019 -19 December
Bonmarché CEO Helen Connolly quits
Bonmarché CEO Helen Connolly has stepped down from her role, after three years in the position, according to Drapers. Connolly stepped down from the position after joining the fashion retailer in August 2016 succeeding Karen Millen and Coast CEO Beth Butterwick. Prior to Bonmarché, she held the position of director…
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17 December
Ted Baker appoints ex-Sports Direct CFO as non-executive director
Ted Baker has appointed Jon Kempster as an independent non-executive director effective immediately. Kempster has previously held board positions at Sports Direct, where he served as chief financial officer. He has also held senior positions at Delta, Fii Group, Linden and Low and Bonar. Kempster also held the position as…
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13 December
New Look appoints Nigel Oddy as new CEO
High street retailer New Look has appointed Nigel Oddy as its new chief executive officer. Oddy joined the retailer in April and held the role of its chief operating officer. He was also the chief executive of House of Fraser, having spent seven years at the department store holding various…
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11 December
Debenhams appoints John Walden and Kevin Conroy as non-executive directors
Department store Debenhams has appointed John Walden and Kevin Conroy as non-executive directors of Celine Jersey Topco, the parent company of the Debenhams Group. Walden is currently chairman of Naked Wines (formerly known as Majestic Wine plc) and was previously held the position of chairman at Holland and Barrett International.…
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Nov- 2019 -28 November
M&S hires former Arcadia exec as head of brand creative
Marks and Spencer has appointed Anthony Cassidy as its new head of brand creative. Cassidyy joins from Arcadia, where he is currently creative director across a number of the group’s brands. Marks and Spencer said Cassidy has a “diverse” range of experience including both in-house and agency roles at Portas…
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27 November
Wilko appoints Chris Martin as non-executive director
High-street chain Wilko has announced the appointment of Chris Martin as non-executive director. Martin is currently the chief executive of Musgrave group. He joined the Musgrave main board in 2003. Under his direction, the business has “focused strongly on partnering with entrepreneurial retailers and innovative food suppliers to develop the…
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