Dunelm names Whitbread’s Andy Harrison as chairman
Homewares retailer Dunelm has announced that Whitbread chief executive Andy Harrison will assume the role of chairman of the company when Geoff Cooper retires from the Dunelm board in July.
The news comes as Whitbread confirmed that Harrison is to retire as chief executive in 2016.
Harrison joined the Dunelm board as a non-executive director last September. Prior to his role at Whitbread, he was chief executive of EasyJet and of RAC.
Geoff Cooper, who has served as Dunelm’s chairman since 2004, said: “Dunelm is an outstanding business and it has been my immense privilege to have served as chairman over the past decade. Andy has a great deal of experience of leading large, listed consumer facing organisations with a strong service offer, and he will be an extremely effective chairman as the Dunelm story enters its next chapter. I believe the future for the group is very bright indeed.”
Harrison added: “I am delighted to have been asked to take on the role of chairman. Under Will Adderley’s renewed leadership as chief executive, there is a clear and ambitious focus on growth being created throughout the organisation, which is fully supported by the board. This is therefore a very exciting time for Dunelm.”
