The Very Group appoints former Asos exec as NED

The Very Group has announced the appointment of Nick Beighton and Paul O’Donnell to the company’s board as non-executive directors. It comes as non-executive director Mark McMenemy has retired from the board, having rejoined the company in 2019 after giving up executive roles to accommodate non-executive and consulting positions. McMenemy has chaired the board’s audit and risk committee and, most recently, its ESG committee. Prior to this, he was group finance director at The Very Group from 2012 to 2015. The appointments of Beighton and O’Donnell, who are respectively representatives of global investment firm Carlyle and international investment company IMI, follow the announcement in February of this year that the retailer has entered into a partnership with Carlyle and IMI. In addition, alongside a £125m funding package – of which roughly £85m from Carlyle was immediately available for the company – each firm would take a seat on the company’s board. Beighton is also non-executive chair of Secret Sales, as well as non-executive director at online fashion retailer Lookiero and at Raging Bull, a heritage clothing brand. He is the former CEO of ASOS, which he joined in 2009 as CFO and COO, becoming CEO in 2015. Meanwhile, O’Donnell has over 20 years of M&A and corporate finance experience, serving as an advisor to public and private companies, as well as private equity funds. He is currently a non-executive director and audit committee member at Nordic Aviation Capital and EnerMech, and he served as an alternate director at McLaren Group. Nadhim Zahawi, non-executive chair of The Very Group, said: “I am delighted to welcome Nick and Paul to The Very Group’s board. Both bring a wide network of relationships, as well as leading expertise and unrivalled experience in helping ambitious businesses develop and grow. Their contributions will be invaluable and I look forward to working with them. “On behalf of everyone at The Very Group, I want to thank Mark for his outstanding contribution. As former group finance director and as a non-executive director, he has played a vital role in shaping the company’s financial performance, governance and focus on ESG. His impact on the business and its people cannot be overstated, and we wish him a very happy retirement.”