Naked Wines brings back founder as chairman
Naked Wines has appointed its founder Rowan Gormley as chairman as part of plans to boost growth.
He has succeeded David Stead who has stepped down from the role and left the board.
Having founded Naked Wines in 2008, Gormley built the business to nearly £200 million in revenues. His appointment follows his return to Naked Wines in September as an unpaid board advisor ahead of the company launching a new commercial strategy.
Stead said: “I am pleased to be handing over the chairmanship of Naked to Rowan as the business develops plans to deliver profitable growth over the long term. In my time with the company, it has more than doubled in scale and, most recently, we have successfully transitioned from a period of exceptional growth during the pandemic, to the current focus on profit and cash. I wish Rowan and all the team at Naked every success.”
The company has also appointed Jack Pailing as an independent director.
In a separate announcement, Naked Wines said sales in its first quarter have been below expectations as it works towards recruiting new customers at a higher rate.
Commenting on his appointment, Gormley said: “My thanks to David and the team for executing a challenging transition in a turbulent market. With a proven ability to deliver profit we now progress to the next stage, and develop plans to deliver profitable, sustainable growth. I am excited to return to a much larger business that has an exciting future ahead and I look forward to working closely with the reshaped board to deliver on Naked’s full potential.”
