Southern Co-op’s Chief Executive, Mark Smith, is set to step down after more than 15 years in the role.
He will retire on 13 June and be replaced by Ben Stimson, who is currently Chief Operating Officer at the Bank of England. Stimson’s previous consumer experience includes leadership roles at Waitrose, where he served as both Retail Director And Digital Director, and at Sky.
After thanking Smith for his service over the 15 years, during which time the business more than doubled in size, Southern Co-op’s Chair of the Board, Dame Janet Paraskeva, said: “Ben will bring his very wide range of consumer and leadership experience to the role of CEO. This will be hugely valuable as he works with the Board to develop plans for the medium term and beyond, building on the success of recent years to ensure our co-op remains relevant and successful in the long term.”
Stimson added: “I’m delighted to be joining such a purpose-led business with strong foundations and a clear sense of its future. I look forward to picking up Mark’s impressive legacy and working with the team to deliver the next stage in Southern Co-op’s future evolution.”
NAM Implications:
- A change of leadership has to mean changes…
- …that will trickle down to buyer level, at least.
- Time for suppliers to reassess their network interface, at least…
