Shop Direct boosts board with internal promotions
Shop Direct, the owner of Very.co.uk, has strengthened its executive board with a range of internal promotions.
Retail finance director Greg Pateras will succeed Mark McMenemy as group finance director following McMenemy’s decision to retire as a full-time executive. In addition, Jon Owen has also been promoted to the executive board as group retail brands director.
The promotions follow the appointment to the executive board of Matt Dixon as group product director at the end of 2013. While Owen will continue to lead trading for the business alongside Dixon, he will also assume responsibility for the creative team.
Meanwhile, group chief operating officer Neil Chandler will take on the role of financial services chief executive, succeeding Andy Hart who has decided to leave Shop Direct for personal reasons.
Gareth Jones, who was recently appointed deputy chief executive of Shop Direct, will also take on the role of group chief operating officer. His new responsibilities will see him take control of the customer’s end-to-end experience including fulfilment, operations, process excellence, outsourcing and customer services. In addition, his remit will continue to include strategy, customer experience, Very Exclusive, ecommerce and customer intelligence.
All of the new positions will take effect from 5 January 2015.
Alex Baldock, group chief executive at Shop Direct, said: “We work hard to cultivate talent at Shop Direct. Congratulations to Greg and Jon, two home-grown rising stars, and to Gareth and Neil, both lynchpins of our transformation so far. This team can take us to the next level in our journey towards being a world class digital retailer.
“Meanwhile, many thanks to Mark and Andy, who have played key roles in our recent resurgence. We are determined to build on that to become a true leader in ecommerce.”
