Matalan has made five new senior hires within its leadership team in what is an exciting time for the fashion retailer.
Working with bpesearch, the company has appointed David Seeby as its new Director of Online and Charlotte Dewhurst as Director of Marketing. Alongside these hires, John O’Driscoll has been hired as Director of Strategy, Toni Salters-Warner as Head of Womenswear Buying and Jo Murphy as Head of Design.
David Seeby, who was placed by bpesearch, was previously Director of Product Management and Experience at Boden, and has previous extensive experience with retailers such as Marks and Spencer and Dixons Retail.
Charlotte Dewhurst, another of bpesearch’s placements, joins from RS Group and brings considerable marketing experience in global and regional businesses such as Les Mills International, Argos and Morrisons.
Matalan Chief Executive Jo Whitfield said: “To attract talent of the calibre of each and every one of these individuals is a testament to the strength of the Matalan brand and the opportunity that we have to deliver sustainable future growth across our business.
“We are delighted that David, John, Toni, Jo and Charlotte are joining the Matalan team. In different but very important ways, each of their appointments will help us on our mission to serve everyday families better by offering a choice of stylish, good quality and long-lasting products, all at great prices.”
“With such a highly experienced team in place, we’re now in an even stronger position to deliver our ambitious business transformation programme.”
Rachel O’Sullivan, Partner at bpesearch added: “We worked with Matalan to understand the direction they wanted to take the business in and gain a solid understanding of the talent they needed in order to successfully execute this. We work with some of the most talented experts in in retail and ecommerce and felt confident we would place the best people who will make a significant contribution to Matalan’s transformation.”
“We wish David and Charlotte all the best in their careers at Matalan and look forward to seeing them develop on their journeys.”
These hires come at an exciting time for the business as it was reported this week that Matalan is the UK’s first retailer to launch a generative AI tool to create its product descriptions. The GenAI model uses the product metadata and imagery to produce detailed descriptions of Matalan’s range. Matalan said the new tool forms an important part of its digital transformation journey and is the first of many initiatives it has planned to improve its online offer.
bpesearch is a UK based executive search firm delivering search mandates at board and functional leadership level across the UK and Western Europe. Our clients range from owner-managed, VC or PE backed businesses to major plc multinationals. We’re at our best supporting change or transformation agendas where new thinking and diverse talent is part of the brief and company vision.
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