Kingfisher Restructuring
Kingfisher PLC
15 September 2000
KINGFISHER PLC ANNOUNCES SENIOR MANAGEMENT RESTRUCTURE
Kingfisher plc has today announced a restructuring of its senior management
team across the Group's main DIY, Electricals and General Merchandise sectors.
This follows the recent announcement that Kingfisher intends to create,
through demerger, two separately quoted UK PLCs; one combining its DIY and
Electrical Sectors, the other General Merchandise.
General Merchandise
Martin Toogood, currently Chief Executive of B&Q UK, will become Chief
Executive of the new General Merchandise company. Philip Rowley, currently
Finance Director of Kingfisher plc will become Deputy Chief Executive and
Finance Director of that company. Philip will remain on the Kingfisher Board
until the demerger is complete.
In addition to these appointments, the new operating Board for the General
Merchandise sector under Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy's chairmanship, will comprise:
Keith Fleming, Managing Director at Woolworths; Liz Wright, Managing Director
of Superdrug; Bob Hetherington, Managing Director of Big W; and Steven Round,
Managing Director of Woolworths General Store.
In due course, non-executive directors will be appointed to the new company.
Jim Glover, who has acted as head of the General Merchandise sector for the
past three months has decided to leave the business to pursue other career
opportunities.
Electricals
In Electricals, Philippe Frances, Chief Executive of Kingfisher Electrical SA
(KESA), having turned 60, has decided to retire from his operational
responsibilities and as Executive Director of Kingfisher. He will remain as
President of the Supervisory Boards of Darty and BUT and as a member of
Castorama's Supervisory Board and will maintain his interest in LibertySurf.
Kingfisher understands it is the intention of Roger Holmes, currently Chief
Executive of KESA and Executive Director of Kingfisher plc to take up a career
opportunity outside of the Group.
When this is confirmed, Jean-Noel Labroue, former Managing Director of Darty
and currently Senior Vice President of KESA, will replace Roger as Chief
Executive of KESA and become a member of the Board of Kingfisher plc.
DIY
In DIY, Bill Whiting, currently Managing Director of B&Q International is to
take over full responsibility for B&Q as Chief Executive. He will also be
appointed to the Board of Kingfisher plc.
Commenting on the restructure, Kingfisher Chief Executive Sir Geoffrey
Mulcahy, said: 'I would like to congratulate the team on their important new
roles and I am delighted that all of the roles have been filled through
promotions within the Kingfisher Group. It clearly demonstrates the strength
and quality of the company's management.
'The General Merchandise business has an exciting future and I am confident we
now have the people in place not only to drive forward the demerger process
but also to deliver a strong operational performance during the important
second half. In the longer term, I believe we have the management strength to
fully exploit the new company's growth potential in this huge UK market.'
Notes to Editors
Biographical details
Martin Toogood
* Martin began his career in retail by joining BhS as a management trainee,
working his way up the organisation to become Managing Director of Habitat
Designs Ltd.
* He joined Kingfisher in 1990 as the Retail Director of Woolworths and in
1995 became Managing Director, B&Q UK
Philip Rowley
* Philip was appointed Group Finance Director in August 1998. He was
previously with the company as Group Financial Controller between January
1997
and August 1988
* Philip began his career with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co (London) after
which he joined the EMI Group in 1977 where he became Chief Financial
Officer
and Executive Vice President of EMI Music Worldwide
* In 1995 he founded and became Managing Director of Tribeca Technologies,
a New York-based technology company specialising in ISDN connectivity and
sound compression technologies
* Prior to re-joining Kingfisher, Philip was Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer of Golden Books Family Entertainment, the largest
children's book publisher in the US
Jean-Noel Labroue
* Jean-Noel became Senior Vice President of KESA in spring 2000
* He was previously Chief Executive of Darty and more recently Chairman of
the Board of Darty between 1994 and 2000. He joined Darty in 1979
* Prior to joining Darty, Jean-Noel was Commercial Director for computer
manufacturer Intertechnique
Bill Whiting
* Bill joined B&Q in 1982 where he became Marketing Director. He was then
appointed as Managing Director of B&Q Warehouse before taking up the role as
Managing Director of B&Q International
For further information :
Media Enquiries
John Eyre, Director of Corporate Affairs +44 (0) 20 7725 5714
Gail Lavielle, Director of Corporate Communications +33 (1) 43 18 52 68
Broker and Institutional Enquiries
Andrew Mills, Acting Director of Investor Relations +44 (0) 20 7725 5776
Graham Fairbank, Head of Coporate Communications +33 (1) 43 18 52 26
Kingfisher plc +44 (0) 20 7724 7749
Kingfisher Website www.kingfisher.co.uk
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