McColls appoints Giles David as CFO

McColls Retail Group has announced the appointment of Giles David to its board as chief financial officer (CFO). David will join the group on 1 June having previously held the position of CFO at Casual Dining Group, a position he was appointed to in 2017. He has over 20 years of experience in senior finance roles across retail, hospitality, property and telecoms, and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. The news comes as earlier this month, McColls CFO Robbie Bell announced his departure from the convenience store chain to take up an equivalent role at health and wellbeing retailer Holland and Barrett. David said he is “excited” to be joining McColls and looks forward to working with CEO Jonathan Miller and the board of directors. He said: “As a leading neighbourhood retailer, McColl’s is playing an invaluable role in serving local communities at this time. It will be a privilege to be part of that work, and as we look to the future, I believe we have a real opportunity to deliver on the Group’s strategy to drive growth in the years ahead.” Miller added: “Giles is a highly experienced CFO with a real understanding of customer-facing businesses, and I’m delighted he’s joining McColl’s. “This is a very busy time for our business with increased customer demand, as we work hard to serve customers in neighbourhoods across the UK, and we’re really looking forward to having Giles on board and benefiting from his expertise.” McColls also announced the appointment of Richard Crampton, chief commercial officer (CCO), with effect from 1st June 2020. The company said Crampton’s appointment to the board is in recognition of the “valuable contribution” he has made to the Group since he joined McColl’s in September 2019 in the newly created position of CCO. Additionally, Benedict Smith has been appointed to the board as non-executive director with effect from 1st July 2020. On appointment he will join the audit and risk committee, remuneration committee and nomination committee. Smith was recently interim group CFO of Dennis Publishing Group and has a wealth of experience in retail, having previously held group CFO positions at Hunter Boot, Game Digital, Harrods and Spirit Group. Angus Porter, chairman, said: "I am delighted to welcome Giles, Richard and Benedict to the board of McColl’s. Giles brings with him strong financial stewardship, Richard’s is a well-deserved appointment having already made a significant contribution to the business, and Benedict has in-depth retail industry knowledge and expertise that we will greatly benefit from.”