Name: John Cleland
Was: Retail director for Somerfield
Now: CEO of Maplin
Years in grocery: 20

Career background: Cleland started out at Sainsbury’s in 1986, where he progressed to the role of senior buyer. He left in 1993 to join Asda, where he worked for nine years - the final two as retail MD. Staying with Walmart, he moved to Japan as senior VP of its operations there from 2002 to 2005. He then spent a short time outside grocery as commercial director of B&Q, before returning as retail director for Somerfield in 2006. When Somerfield was bought by The Co-operative Group in 2009, he stayed to help with the merger, before leaving to head Esporta Health & Fitness.

What is he doing now? Cleland was appointed CEO of electronics retailer Maplin in March this year. At the time of his appointment he said: “I am excited to be leading the firm as it looks to accelerate its growth and performance over the medium term.” The post also saw him reunited with John Lovering, who was chairman at Somerfield while he was there and is now chairman of Maplin.

Biggest achievement in grocery? Cleland was one of the key directors responsible for the turnaround of Somerfield and its subsequent sale to The Co-op Group. He was also one of just two Somerfield directors to stay on following the acquisition. Following the deal, The Co-op made him MD of Somerfield.

What does the future hold? Cleland is already making his presence felt at Maplin. Earlier this month, he unveiled plans for a £40m investment over the next three-and-a-half years in new stores and multichannel projects. He has also brought in former Somerfield man Mike Lucas as retail director and appointed Ryan Thomas from Comet as its first multichannel director. He remains linked to grocery as a non-executive director of Nisa.

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