Shop Direct appoints new group finance director
Shop Direct, the owner of Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, has appointed Derek Harding to its executive board as group finance director.
Harding will join the business later this year from international engineering group Senior where he has held the role of group finance director since September 2013.
Prior to joining Senior, he worked with Wolseley for 11 years, most recently as finance director of Wolseley UK. His other previous roles at Wolsey included group financial controller, director of group strategy and investor relations, and head of mergers and acquisitions.
In his new role, Harding will report directly to group chief executive Alex Baldock and will succeed Greg Pateras. Shop Direct said Pateras is leaving the business in July to explore new opportunities.
Baldock said: “Derek is a world class finance director of large, complex businesses. Most recently, at Senior, he has played an important role in developing and delivering the growth strategy for a technology-focused business. At Wolseley, he was integral to the multichannel distributor’s organic and acquisitive growth.
“Derek will strengthen an already strong executive team here at Shop Direct. I very much look forward to working with him.”
