The Board of The Co-operative Group has appointed Euan Sutherland as its new Group CEO, it was announced today.
Mr Sutherland, 43, is currently Group Chief Operating Officer of Kingfisher, and will join The Co-operative following Peter Marks‘ retirement in May next year.
Len Wardle, Chair of the Co-operative Group, said: “I am delighted that Euan is to be The Co-operative Group‘s next Chief Executive.
“He brings with him considerable experience of the strategic leadership needed in complex customer-facing businesses, across a variety of retail sectors, and we very much look forward to welcoming him and working together.”
Prior to becoming Kingfisher‘s Chief Operating Officer, Mr Sutherland was Chairman of B&Q and CEO of Kingfisher UK & Ireland.
He has also been a non-executive director of The Co-operative Group‘s Food Board since 2010.
The Co-operative Group, the UK‘s largest mutual business, operates 4,800 retail trading outlets and is the fifth largest food retailer in the UK.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Sutherland said: “The Co-operative is a great brand and I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to lead the organisation at this important time.
“The challenge is to build upon the success that has been achieved in recent years and the solid foundations that have been laid for its future growth.”
Mr Sutherland will leave Kingfisher, the home improvement retail group which owns B&Q and Castorama, in March 2013.
Until then he will remain in his current role as Chief Operating Officer, which a spokesman for the group has said will allow “an extensive handover of his responsibilities.”
In a statement released today, Ian Cheshire, Kingfisher‘s Group Chief Executive, said: “I would like to thank Euan for his contribution to Kingfisher over the last four and a half years.
“He has played an important part in the successful development of the Group and I wish him well in his new role.
“A key element of our success in recent years has been bringing together our international teams and harnessing their talent to work on common goals.
“As a result, Kingfisher today has great strength and depth in its management and I will personally be involved in the transition as Euan‘s responsibilities are handed over.
“I look forward to working closely with our management teams as we continue with our ‘Creating the Leader‘ strategy.”
