Mr Price's current CFO will take over from CEO Stuart Bird from 1 January 2019.
The Mr Price Group announced today that its CEO of eight years, Stuart Bird, will be retiring on 31 December. He will also step down as an executive director at the end of March next year.
The current CFO of the Mr Price Group, Mark Blair, has been appointed as Stuart’s replacement with effect from 1 January next year.
Mark Blair has served as the group’s chief financial officer for 11 years and has been with the company for 12.
Chairman Nigel Payne said congratulated Mark on his new role:
“Mark is well placed to lead the next phase of the Mr Price Group’s growth and geographic expansion. He is deeply committed to our culture and values, and enjoys the support of a strong leadership team.”
He said that that Stuart’s 25-year career with Mr Price and particularly his leadership as CEO for the last decade have seen the group grow into one of the top performing retailers in southern Africa, with a market capitalisation of over R60 billion.
“Stuart’s success has been as a consequence of focusing on our customers and ensuring we provide the products that appeal to them. He has also taken key steps to create the infrastructure and capabilities upon which out future success will be built,” Nigel said.
Over the eight years of Stuart’s leadership, earnings have grown at a compound rate of 18.8 percent. Together, Stuart and Mark were responsible for an eight percent growth to R21.3 billion in revenue this year.
