B&Q appoints Darren Blackhurst as commercial director
DIY retailer B&Q has appointed former Matalan chief executive Darren Blackhurst as its commercial director.
The retailer said the move was part of plans to strengthen its management team and to simplify the senior structure. It follows the appointment of Kevin O’Byrne as chief executive in October last year.
Blackhurst has extensive retail experience having previously worked as chief executive at Matalan and before that as group trading director at Asda. Prior to Asda, he spent 18 years in senior roles at Tesco.
B&Q had previously split the commercial director role in two but has now unified the function under Blackhurst which it says will make the role “simpler and more effective”.
Commenting on the appointment O’Byrne said: “I am pleased to welcome Darren to the B&Q management team. He has extensive UK and international commercial experience and is a strong leader. He will be a very good addition to the B&Q team.”
