Dunelm hires former Monsoon boss John Browett
Homeware retailer Dunelm Group has hired John Browett as chief executive, nine months after the surprise exit of former boss Nick Wharton.
Browett will join the board on 1st July but will not take on the reins until January, following a six month induction period working with Will Adderley, who has been interim boss since Wharton's departure.
Adderly will return to his role as non-executive director.
Browett has plenty of retail experience, although his most recent role as chief executive of Monsoon was marred by poor results, leading to his departure under something of a cloud in February. At the time he said he was leaving to “pursue other career opportunities”, with financial director Paul Allen stepping into the breach.
Before that he had a famously short stint at Apple as senior vice president of its retail division. He parted ways with the company after just six months.
He has also held senior roles at Tesco and Dixos Retail, and is currently non-executive director of EasyJet.
Dunelm's outgoing chairman Geoff Cooper said: “John brings an exceptional combination of business leadership together with outstanding retail skills across a breadth of sectors, from grocery to electricals and fashion. John also brings proven experience of applying technology in multi channel operations, which will help us accelerate our digital plans.
“As part of our succession planning work, he was identified as our preferred chief executive candidate some time ago and, somewhat unexpectedly, only recently became available. Andy and John have worked together before on the board of EasyJet, and John has spent considerable time getting to know Dunelm and the board.”
Cooper, who is being replaced by Andy Harrison later this year, added: "Dunelm has dealt admirably with the challenges brought by its strong growth, particularly since becoming a public company. It is a hallmark of Dunelm's approach that it has consistently developed, in advance, the capabilities necessary to sustain further progress.
"That approach has equally applied to the composition of the board, with a high priority given to board and management succession. Today's announcement reflects the outcome of the board's work to identify the leadership necessary to support our next phase of growth.”
Wharton, who left in September last year, has since been made chief financial officer at SuperGroup, plugging the gap left after his predecessor Shaun Wills was forced to step down after being declared bankrupt.