Pets at Home has picked up a new finance chief from PZ Cussons as it looks to rebuild its top team amid declining sales.
The retail chain ousted its chief executive Lyssa McGowan last week after it issued a surprise profits warning.
CFO Mike Iddon will also now leave the business after opting to retire in the spring of next year. He will be replaced by current PZ Cussons CFO Sarah Pollard.
Pollard was previously finance director at Birds Eye and deputy chief financial officer at Nomad Foods. She has also held finance leadership roles at Unilever, Tesco, and PepsiCo.
Iddon leaves the business after nine years, overseeing a period in which revenues doubled to £2bn and £500m was returned to shareholders, said executive chair Ian Burke.
Iddon said: “I will retire leaving the business with a well-invested platform, a sector-leading vet business and a robust balance sheet that sets it up well for the future.”
While Pets at Home saw sales soar through the pandemic, it has since run into difficult times with sales and profitability coming under immense pressure.
Last week’s profit warning was the second in a few months and its share price is down over 30% in the past year.
By contrast, PZ Cussons returned to profitability last year after it cut around two-thirds of its cost base and embedded a new operating model.
Pollard joined in 2021, the year after CEO Jonathan Myers, with the pair charged with turning around a seven-year losing streak of declining sales and five years of declining profits.
“I want to thank Sarah for everything she has done in nearly five years with PZ Cussons,” said Myers.
“She has been a key member of the leadership team and has helped navigate the business through an important phase of its development.”
PZ Cussons said Pollard’s replacement and departure date will be announced soon.
No comments yet