// Watches of Switzerland COO Tony Broderick will stand down in April
// Craig Bolton joins the company as new UK executive director with immediate effect
Watches of Switzerland has announced its chief operating officer Tony Broderick will be stepping down in April.
The watch and jewellery retailer has appointed a new executive director amid Broderick’s resignation.
Craig Bolton will be joining the company as its new UK executive director with immediate effect.
READ MORE: Watches of Switzerland touts 112% rise in profits
Bolton will be responsible for bringing together all of the group’s brands and operational functions.
US executive vice president David Hurley will continue to lead the group’s businesses across the pond.
Both Bolton and Hurley will report directly to chief executive Brian Duffy.
“Craig brings to this newly created role 14 years of experience and significant success in our group and under his leadership, Goldsmiths and Mappin & Webb have gone from strength to strength,” Duffy said.
Meanwhile, Broderick’s previous experience was at Goldsmiths, when he joined in 1979 as a warehouse supervisor and over the next 40 years moved to retail management in stores, then regional areas and then working at a national level.
He was appointed as chief operating officer in 2009 and has served on the board of directors since 2000.
“During his time with the company, Tony has seen many ownership changes, management changes and market changes and his success is a tribute to his commitment, his personal adaptability and most significantly, the immediate respect and support that he commands,” Duffy said.
“Tony will leave at the end of April and until then will remain fully engaged and supportive of our business in the UK and US.”
In December 2019, Watches of Switzerland bucked the high street trend, posting a huge 112 per cent rise in adjusted profit before tax to £26.5 million for the half year.
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