Andy Harrison is to assume the role of chairman of Dunelm from 7th July 2015, upon the retirement of Geoff Cooper from the retailer's board. Andy is currently a non-executive director of Dunelm, having joined the board in September 2014. He is CEO of Whitbread, having previously been chief executive of easyJet and RAC.
Geoff Cooper, who has served as Dunelm's chairman since 2004, says: "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."
Will Adderley, chief executive, says: "Since Geoff joined Dunelm 11 years ago, the business has grown more than three-fold in both sales and profits. He has been instrumental in our success, and his leadership has been inspirational. On a personal note, the advice and knowledge that he has passed onto me has been invaluable. So we will miss Geoff, but we are really fortunate to have someone of Andy's calibre and experience ready to step into his shoes. We are all looking forward to working with him as our chairman for our next phase of growth."
Andy Harrison adds: "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."
