Irn-Bru owner AG Barr appoints former Carpetright CEO Darren Shapland as chair
Irn-Bru owner AG Barr has appointed Darren Shapland, former chief executive of Carpetright, as chair of the board.
He has succeeded Susan Barratt, who has served as interim non-executive chair since 15 January following the departure of Mark Allen, and will now resume her role as senior independent director.
Subscribe to TRBShapland has 40 years of financial, operational and governance experience after working with a range of major UK consumer businesses, including several retailers. In addition tohis role as chief executive of Carpetright, he has held chief financial officer positions at Sainsbury’s and Superdrug, as well as senior finance and operational leadership roles at The Burton Group.
He currently serves as non-executive chair of Hollywood Bowl Group and a non-executive director at JD Sports. His previous public board roles have included chair positions at Topps Tiles and Poundland.
At AG Barr, he will also chair the nomination committee and will be a member of the remuneration and ESG committees.
Euan Sutherland, chief executive of AG Barr, said: “On behalf of the entire team, I want to thank Susan for her exceptionally steady leadership as interim chair over the past few months, and I am very pleased that the business will continue to benefit from her deep commercial insight. W
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Darren to AG Barr. His wealth of consumer, commercial, and financial expertise will be invaluable as we continue to drive long-term value for our shareholders, build our brand momentum, and execute our growth strategy.”
Shapland said: “AG Barr is a business with a truly unique heritage, powerful brands, and a highly robust financial foundation. I am delighted to be taking over as chair at such a pivotal time in the company’s journey.
“I look forward to working with Euan and Susan, and the rest of the board and executive leadership team to support the business in achieving its long-term strategic objectives.”
