Mulcahy to step down early
End of an era as Kingfisher chief exec departs
October 30 2002
Kingfisher chief executive Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy is to step down from the retail group he founded at the end of this week.
Sir Geoff’s early departure comes at the same time as the formal announcement of his successor.
Kingfisher chairman Francis Mackay has confirmed that Gerry Murphy from Carlton will become Kingfisher’s chief executive. However, with Murphy not due to start until the end of January, Sir Geoff’s sooner-than-expected departure will leave the group without a chief executive for three months, with Mackay leading the managementx team in the interim.
Kingfisher is currently managing the integration of the Castorama business, as well as laying plans for the demerger of its electricals arm next year.
Kingfisher was founded 20 years ago on Sir Geoff’s vision of building a retail empire across all sectors. It grew to include Woolworths, Comet, B&Q and Superdrug, as well as its European operations, and came close to a merger with Asda in 1999, before Wal-Mart stepped in at the eleventh hour.
However, Sir Geoff’s all-encompassing strategy fell out of favour with the City, and following sales and demergers, Kingfisher now sees its future as a pureplay DIY retailer.
Mackay said: “I am delighted that Gerry Murphy has agreed to join Kingfisher. His leadership skills will ensure that we continue to pursue our strategic agenda with a clear sense of purpose, and that Kingfisher will continue to deliver on the challenging objectives we have set for ourselves.
“I would like also to express my personal gratitude to Geoff for his support and wise counsel since I arrived as chairman of the group. Geoff is an outstanding figure in British business, whose vision and grasp of strategic opportunities have been critical to Kingfisher’s remarkable story from the outset. We shall miss him, and wish him every success with his future endeavours.”
Sir Geoff said: “My feelings today can be well imagined, as I welcome Gerry Murphy to Kingfisher and hand on the responsibility of leading the magnificent business we have created over the past 20 years. I am immensely proud of that achievement and will remain forever grateful to my colleagues past and present who have given their all to Kingfisher over the years.
“Naturally, I am sad to be leaving the business before the process of transformation, which we started two years ago, is finally complete. It is clearly important that no momentum is lost in integrating Castorama and finalising the separation of the electricals business. This will leave Kingfisher uniquely well positioned as the clear leader in the European DIY market and the most international of all DIY retailers globally.”
