Career moves: Vodafone, Park Group and more

Vodafone CFO Nick Read to replace Vittorio Colao as CEO

Telecommunications group Vodafone has promoted CFO Nick Read to CEO of the group. Read will be replacing current CEO Vittorio Colao who will be stepping down in September.

Prior to becoming CFO, Read served as group chief executive for the Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions for Vodafone and as a board member for Vodafone’s emerging markets subsidiaries including Vodacom Group and Vodafone India. The company also announced that Margherita Della Valle will succeed Nick Read as group CFO and will join the board, and Nick Read will become group chief executive-designate.”

About his resignation, Colao said: “It is a difficult decision to step down as CEO from a company where you have been for 10 years.”

Park Group appoints new group CFO  

Multi-retailer gift voucher and gift card provider Park Group  has appointed Tim Clancy as its new group chief financial officer. Clancy will be succeeding Martin Stewart, who will be stepping down from the position in August. Stewart  will remain with the company until a successor has been found.

Prior to joining Park, Clancy had served as a CFO at Assurant Europe, where he was responsible for overseeing acquisitions of businesses in the UK, France, and Germany, and the integration and consolidation of these acquisitions as well. His previous roles included being the finance director of Lifestyle Services Group and the commercial finance director for the Shop Direct Group. He has also served as a finance director for MyTravel  and as a managing director for Going Places.

Speaking about the appointment, Park Group chairman Laura Carstensen said: “We are very pleased to welcome Tim to the company as group finance director. He has a great deal of experience in businesses and sectors which are extremely relevant to Park. We will ensure a thorough handover and look forward to working with Tim as we continue our growth trajectory into the future.”

Crawshaw brings on board new CEO and CFO

Butcher chain Crawshaw has announced the appointment of Jim Viggars as its new CEO and Nick Taylor as its new CFO, effective 21 May 2018. Prior to joining Crawshaw, Viggars served as head of the fresh meat department at ASDA and as a buying manager for ASDA’s pre-packed pies division. He was also the sales director for UK import & distribution services.

Taylor was previously the CFO of Janan Meat and  inance director for the egg products division of Noble Foods. Taylor has also held a variety of roles such as finance director and general manager for ABP Foods.

Speaking about the appointments, Jim McCarthy, chairman of Crawshaw said: “They both have clear commercial acumen and careers which are steeped in the industry. I am confident that their combined expertise, experience and outlook will help drive the group forward.”

Audioboom appoints new chief financial officer

Podcasting distribution platform Audioboom has brought on board Brad Clarke as its new CFO. Prior to joining Audioboom, Clarke had served at Brave Bison Group as its group finance director. He  qualified as a chartered accountant with Grant Thorton in 2009 and worked at News UK for more than five years where he was the financial controller of shopping website, The Handpicked Collection.

PremFina recruits David Wardle as COO

David Wardle has been recruited as Premfina, a software provider to the insurance industry, new chief operating officer. Prior to joining Premfina, Wardle was as a finance director at One Call Insurance Services Limited and also served as CFO at Homelet.

In his new role, Wardle will be responsible for streamlining operational processes to help PremFina become more efficient and grow in the UK and abroad. Speaking about Wardle’s appointment, PremFina CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar about his appointment, Wardle said: “I’m delighted to be part of PremFina and to help it achieve its goals. As a company experiencing exponential growth, this represents a very exciting challenge.”

Ed Parsons joins Tuscan Capital as CFO

Ed Parsons will be joining Tuscan Capital as its new CFO. Parsons brings a wealth of experience with him, having worked for 20 years in the finance and accounting sector, including 10 years specialising in corporate and structured finance.

Hostelworld appoints Gary Morrison as CEO as Feargal Mooney steps down

The hostels listing website Hostelworld has hired Gary Morrison who worked for Expedia in a variety of roles such as head of retail operations. Most recently, he was responsible for leading Expedia’s EMEA division.

Speaking about Feargal Mooney’s departure from the role and Morrision’s appointment, Hostelworld chairman Michael Cawley said: “Feargal has been speaking with me and the board about his plans for the long term and consequently some months ago we focused our attentions on succession to facilitate an orderly transition. We are delighted to appoint a candidate of Gary’s calibre and experience to succeed Feargal.”

EasyJet Holidays names TUI’s Garry Wilson chief executive in expansion drive

Travel company EasyJet Holidays has poached TUI managing director, Garry Wilson, as its new CEO. He will be reporting to EasyJet’s group executive, Johan Lundgren, who had also served at Tui group as its chief executive.

Speaking about Wilson’s appointment, Lundgren said: “Garry has 20 years’ experience in the holiday sector and is currently TUI Group’s managing director for group product and purchasing. Garry will set up and lead a dedicated unit within the easyJet group and will be responsible for accelerating the development of easyJet Holidays.”

City Web Consultants appoints COO for expansion

Digital consultancy City Web Consultants has appointed Kate Baucherel as its new chief operating officer. Prior to joining City Web, Baucherel held senior financial and technical roles in multiple businesses across multiple sectors and led several enterprises through their start-up and growth phases. She is also the co-founder of Sphere Network and is a published author.

Speaking about her appointment, Baucherel commented: “I’m very excited to be joining City Web to help them in their growth and development. As an independent consultant, these were my go-to software experts for emerging tech challenges, and I’m delighted to become part of the team.”

2 Sisters Food Group appoints chief executive

Manufacturing company 2 Sisters Food Group has named Ronald Kers as its new chief executive officer. Starting in June, Kers will be replacing Ranjit Singh, who is stepping down from the role after 25 years. Prior to joining 2 Sisters, Kers worked for global FMCG companies such as Nestle and Procter & Gamble.

Speaking about his appointment, Kers stated: “2 Sisters is an incredible company and I am pleased to take over from Ranjit and write the next chapter of its success story, which is often overlooked.

Vitesse Media gets new group CFO

Digital media and events company Vitesse Media has recruited David Brown as its new group chief financial officer. Brown’s role will come into effect 29 May 2018.  Brown is a qualified chartered accountant, having worked with KPMG and joined Greene King in 1998 where he had held a number of senior executive roles and focused on finance and acquisitions. Most recently, he served as the CFO of Market Tech Holdings.

Simon Sitwell, Vitesse Media’s CEO said about the appointment: “David brings a wealth of complementary experience to the new and refreshed management team. He has proven execution capability in acquisitions and understands the  environment. We are very pleased to have appointed somebody of his calibre and look forward to working together with the aim of creating sustainable long term shareholder value.”

Mothercare rehires CEO

Retailer Mothercare has re-appointed Mark Newton-Jones as its interim CEO. Starting his career at Next, Newton-Jones went on to become CEO of Littlewoods, which eventually went on to become UK’s largest online and catalogue retailer under his leadership.

Mothercare chair Alan Parker seemed particularly enthusiastic about the appointment and stated: “We are delighted to have secured the appointment of Mark as our interim CEO. His leadership skills and depth of experience in retailing through stores and online will further enhance our drive to deliver the recovery of the UK business to complement the strong and growing international operations.”

Kim Overman becomes Uniserve’s first group chief operating officer

Logistics company Uniserve has appointed Kim Overman as the company’s first ever group chief operating officer. Overman has had a 34-year long career and has held multiple senior positions at MSAS and Fritz/UPS. Most recently, Overman served as the global head of retail at Damco.

Speaking about his appointment, Overman said: “Being part of a forward-thinking business which is innovative and provides quick decision-making in an ever-changing global market gives me the opportunity to use my experience, and I am really excited at the growth strategy within the Uniserve Group.”

Bells Food Group appoints finance director

Bells Food Group has brought on board Samantha Murray as its new finance director. Prior to becoming BFG’s finance director, Murray spent 11 years at the company in a variety of roles. Speaking about the appointment, BFG’s managing director, Ronnie Miles said: “We are delighted with our new senior appointments and they signify a real step-change for the business as we build capacity and expertise at a senior level to continue our ambitious expansion and innovation plans.”

 

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