WH Smith in succession headhunt
Replacement chief executive sought
June 22 2003
WH Smith has indicated that it has appointed a headhunter to look for a suitable replacement for Chief Executive Richard Handover.
News agency Reuters said a source close to the company had confirmed that recruitment specialist Egon Zehnder will look for candidates inside and outside the company. The source was quoted as saying: “Richard Handover is due to retire when he’s 60. It’s therefore sensible to be looking for a successor to him.”
The retailer has not commented officially, except to deny a report in the Mail on Sunday newspaper that WH Smith shareholders had told the company they would not accept retail director Beverley Hodson as a successor.
A spokesman told Reuters: “Over the last few weeks since our results announcement we have seen shareholders who collectively hold 60 per cent of WH Smith equity and none of them have raised concerns about either succession or individuals on the board.”
