As 2024 comes to an end, Retail Gazette takes a look at some of the biggest appointments and exits that took place over the year.
Hires
Allan Leighton, executive chair, Asda
Former Asda boss Allan Leighton returned to the supermarket this month as its executive chair to head up its recovery efforts.
Leighton succeeds Lord Rose, who will remain on the board “to ensure an orderly transition before stepping down”.
It’s not Leighton’s first time turning around the grocer after he, alongside current M&S chair Archie Norman, spearheaded Asda’s recovery in the late 1990s and helped orchestrate its sale to Walmart.
He told the supermarket’s employees earlier this month that he expects the turnaround efforts to take “three to five years” as he looks to “restore Asda’s DNA”, including making improvements to price and availability, and hiring a new CEO.
Jason Tarry, chair, John Lewis Partnership
Tarry, who spent more than 33 years at Britain’s largest grocer, stepped down as Tesco’s UK and Ireland chief executive in October last year.
He has been tasked with leading the “next phase of modernisation” at John Lewis as it looks to rebuild and turnaround the business after being hit hard during the pandemic with losses deepening to as much as £234m – something that’s he’s credited with doing at Tesco.
Peter Ruis, executive director, John Lewis
Ruis, who was the department store’s previous fashion boss, has made quite the mark during his first year as he brought back the retailer’s famous Never Knowingly Undersold price promise.
He’s also been busy rolling out new store fits and changes across the estate under a multi-million pound investment as part of his commitment to make John Lewis “even more special”.
Paula Nickolds, CEO, The White Company
Nickolds was announced as successor to longstanding CEO of the The White Company, Mary Homer, in January. The former John Lewis managing director joined the retailer from Sainsbury’s, where she had served as general merchandise commercial director.
Nickolds was described by The White Company’s founder Chrissie Rucker OBE as “a passionate, values-driven leader who brings with her a wealth of retail experience across lifestyle, home and fashion” who would helm The White Company in its “next phase of evolvement and growth”.
Dan Finley, CEO, Boohoo Group
Debenhams boss Dan Finley has certainly made a positive impression at Boohoo as he was promoted to the role of chief executive of the group last month.
Finley, who joined the retailer in 2022, has been busy transforming the former high street department store chain into a “stock-light, capital-light and highly profitable” online marketplace.
Boohoo bosses are hoping Finley can work his magic for the fashion etail group, which has been racking up steep losses in recent years. It revealed last month that its half-year losses had tripled to £147.3m in the six months to end of August.
Finley’s new role has not been entirely smooth sailing as the appointment further riled up disgruntled Boohoo shareholder Mike Ashley, who labelled the move as “desperate”. Ashley has since mounted an offense on Boohoo’s group management, and will attempt to install himself on Boohoo’s board in a shareholder vote at Boohoo’s general meeting later this month.
Anthony Hemmerdinger, UK and Ireland managing director, Boots
Boots promoted retail and operations director Anthony Hemmerdinger as its new CEO after Seb James resigned from the post.
Hemmerdinger, who has also worked at Asda, Sainsbury’s and M&S, is credited with spearheading Boots’ significant beauty re-fit and brand expansion programme across the company’s stores.
The retailer said he has been “instrumental” in the delivery of its enhanced healthcare and beauty services in-store.
Matthew Barnes, UK CEO, Tesco
Former Aldi boss Matthew Barnes headed over to Britain’s largest grocer in March to head up its UK businesses.
The new Tesco chief executive has held several senior positions at Aldi during his 27 years at the discounter, including its UK and Ireland CEO, before being promoted to Aldi Sud’s executive board where he was responsible for many of the supermarket’s international businesses and its global sourcing, buying and supply chain.
Julia Goddard, CEO, Harvey Nichols
Goddard joined from Alexander McQueen, where she spent 13 years at the luxury brand, most recently as EMEA president.
The department store has lost its way in recent years and owners the Poon family will hope that Goddard’s track record of delivering quality growth and successfully developing and executing a Very Important Customer clienteling strategy will help to breath new life into the business.
Goddard has made a number of high profile appointments since joining, including appointing stylist and former Topshop director Kate Phelan to the newly created role of creative director and poaching YNAP buying director Kate Benson as chief merchant.
Joshua Schulman, CEO, Burberry
Burberry parachuted in ex-Michael Kors boss Joshua Schulman as its new chief executive in July to replace Jonathan Akeroyd, who stepped down “by mutual agreement with the board”.
The luxury fashion house is banking on Schulman’s history of driving transformative growth and value creation as CEO of global luxury, fashion, and retail businesses after it plunged to a loss of £41m in the six months to 28 September, down from the £223m profit it recorded the year before.
“Burberry’s original purpose to design clothing that protects people from the weather is more relevant than ever,” Schulman said last month when he unveiled his turnaround plan for the business.
“Our recent underperformance has stemmed from several factors, including inconsistent brand execution and a lack of focus on our core outerwear category and our core customer segments. Today, we are acting with urgency to course correct, stabilise the business and position Burberry for a return to sustainable, profitable growth.
Lysa Hardy, CEO, Hotel Chocolat
Hotel Chocolat promoted its UK managing director and group marketing officer Lysa Hardy to the position of CEO in September.
It came as co-founder Angus Thirlwell moved to the role of president after the brand agreed a takeover by confectionery giant Mars in November last year in a deal that valued it at £534m.
Hardy is credited with helping to double the size of the retailer’s UK business in five years, and created the Velvetiser Hot Chocolate category.
She was previously a non-executive at Superdry until July this year, and had held senior positions in Joules and Holland & Barrett.
Exits
Jo Whitfield, CEO, Matalan
Whitfield, who joined the fashion and home chain just over 18 months ago, stepped down to “pursue a portfolio career”.
Under her helm, the retailer said it made “significant progress” in its turnaround strategy including the reshuffling its top team and re-establishment of its “value credentials”.
Whitfield said: “We have reset the business foundations against a very challenging backdrop, have improved profitability in the first year and developed a strategy to take the business forward.
“Now feels the right time to pass the baton as the next phase of the transformation continues. I am confident that Matalan will continue to thrive and I wish my colleagues and leadership team every success for the future.”
The retailer’s chair Karl-Heinz Holland will act as executive chair until a successor is hired.
Mohsin Issa, Asda
Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa announced he was stepping back from his executive leadership role at the supermarket in September to focus on his chief executive position at forecourt giant EG Group.
Issa joined the grocer in 2020 after him and his brother, Zuber Issa, snapped up the business from Walmart in a £6.8bn deal.
His departure came a month after Asda’s then chair Lord Rose told The Telegraph that he was “embarrassed” by the business’ weak performance and believes that co-owner Mohsin Issa should step back from running the supermarket.
“We always said Mohsin was a particular horse for a particular course. He is a disrupter, an entrepreneur, he is an agitator,” Rose said.
“We’ve added a significant number of stores and we’ve changed a lot but it now needs a different animal. In the nicest possible way, Mohsin’s work is largely complete.”
Issa’s tenure at Asda has been highly scrutinised and the billionaire owner admitted to providing inaccurate information to MPs about the intricate offshore ownership structure known as ‘Bellis’ that they established for Asda when he was quizzed late last year.
Seb James, UK MD, Boots
Vocal Boots boss Seb James stepped back from the health and beauty chain in November after accepting a position as group CEO of Veonet, one of Europe’s largest chains of ophthalmology clinics.
James is credited with helping to reinvent the retailer’s beauty business, bringing in hundreds of new brands, re-fitting beauty halls across the UK and employing more specialist beauty advisers, as well as expanding its pharmacy practice to offer over 160 healthcare services for both private and NHS patients.
The former boss has spoken out about the challenges the NHS faces in the UK and previously admitted that his team plotted to make Sephora’s return to the UK a failure.
“Our whole team lent into the idea of making that [store] launch a disaster. As a result a whole flock of new customers came to Boots.
“We grew 85% in a year and the general message going around the store was ‘up yours Sephora’ and that felt very, very good,” he said.
James insisted his exit from Boots was not related to owner Walgreens’ decision to shelve its plans for a multibillion-pound sale of the UK business.
John Edgar, CEO, Fenwick
Fenwick announced in July that its chief executive John Edgar was stepping down and would be replaced by department store veteran Nigel Blow.
The retailer’s chair Sian Westerman said at the time: “John Edgar is stepping down as CEO as part of a reorganisation of our executive leadership team and wider changes to the management structure of the company.
“John has successfully steered the business through the Covid-19 pandemic, launched our online proposition, enhanced and expanded our restaurant business, focused on the development of key stores, including a masterplan project in Newcastle and significant improvements to the Kingston store.”
However, it was revealed in October that Blow, a former Harrods executive, would no longer be taking up the position after reports emerged of multiple sexual assault and rape allegations made against Harrods’ previous owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
Blow quickly spoke out, stating that Fenwick had withdrawn its offer two weeks before he was meant to start following the news.
“Fenwick announced my appointment on 30 July. I was very excited to join Fenwick and take on the significant challenge of turning the business around to profitability after a run of poor, loss-making, results in recent years,” said Blow.
“Like many others, I watched the recent BBC documentary about [former Harrods owner Mohamed] Al Fayed’s behaviour with absolute horror. I do not know and have never met any of the women who bravely spoke about the grooming, sexual assaults, and rapes they endured.”
James Timpson, CEO, Timpson
Shortly after, the chief executive announced he was temporarily stepping back from the cobbler to focus on his new role.
He has employed more than 600 former prisoners across the retailer’s branches throughout the UK and previously served as chair of the Employers Forum for reducing re-offending until 2016. He was appointed as chair of the Prison Reform Trust later the same year.
Timpson’s father Sir John Timpson is working alongside Paresh Majithia, who became the business’ acting group managing director to oversee James’ responsibilities.
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