Ribble appoints Sean Hastings as chief executive
The Ribble bike brand has appointed former River Island chief customer officer Sean Hastings as its new chief executive.
Possessing extensive experience in leading transformational change and growth across the consumer sector, Hastings has recently been working as chief executive of B2C Group where he expanded the business internationally. Prior to that, he worked with River Island as chief customer officer and was chief marketing officer at Pentland Brands, the owner of Speedo, Berghaus, Endura and Ellesse.
He will assume his new role on 1 July,
The hiring follows Ribble strengthening its board last year with the appointment of former Dyson UK managing director Becks DeNiro as chair.
DeNiro said: “We are absolutely delighted that Sean is joining Ribble as CEO. The business has an exciting future ahead, and Sean’s extensive experience across product, brand and multi-channel retail will be invaluable as we embark on the next phase of our growth journey and lead innovation within cycling.”
Hastings added: “I’m thrilled to be joining Ribble, a business with such deep roots in cycling. I’m looking forward to working with the team, building on the great product offer and taking the brand on the next stage of its growth journey.”
Ribble has also announced that its current chief executive Andy Smallwood will be moving to a senior adviser role in which he will provide strategic support for Ribble.
Will Pearson, managing director of True, Ribble’s majority shareholder, said: “We want to thank Andy for everything he has achieved at Ribble over the past seven years.
“The business is almost unrecognisable from when Andy first joined and is now one of the strongest brands in cycling with a fantastic customer proposition and some of the best, award winning bikes in the world.”
