People Champions

Anna Blackburn
Managing director, Beaverbrooks 

Beaverbrooks managing director Anna Blackburn’s position as a people champion was given further weight last year when the jewellery and watch retailer she leads scooped multiple prizes at the Best Companies Awards 2023.

Maintaining its title as Retail’s Best Company to Work For for the third consecutive year, Beaverbrooks was also named third best large company to work for – up from sixth. These accolades followed Beaverbrooks’ Happiest Place to Work prize in at the Retail Week Awards 2023 and a record turnover for the family-owned business in 2022 of £225m.

Alongside ongoing stores and IT “futureproofing” investment, Beaverbrooks spent £550,000 (£500 one-off payments per person) to help staff in the cost-of-living crisis, while management have ongoing access to mental health awareness training and staff are offered wellbeing support via the Retail Trust.

Looking ahead, Blackburn is overseeing the process of moving the retailer’s St Annes, Lancashire, head office three miles down to the road to Lytham, which will require her people management skills to keep staff happy during the transition.

John Colley
Executive chair and chief executive, Majestic Wine 

Chief executive of Majestic Wine John Colley has a lot to be happy about. Colley oversaw six new store openings in 2023 that helped fuel record sales over Christmas during the drinks retailer’s most crucial trading period.

In the eight weeks to December 25, 2023, Majestic served 63,000 new customers, grew its business-to-business division Majestic Commercial and – on December 22, 2023 – oversaw the biggest trading day in its 43-year history.

And it is Colley’s management and people strategy that is supporting positive sentiment across the organisation.

Winner of the Happiest Place to Work at the Retail Week Awards 2024, Colley’s decision to make the “biggest ever investment in pay” at Majestic – including performance-related rewards and continued support for staff professional qualifications – is behind the feelgood factor.

Majestic secured a rescue deal for Vagabond Wines in April – and embedding this new arrival into his business’ culture poses the next challenge for Colley.

Helen Dickinson
Chief executive, British Retail Consortium 

Helen Dickinson is the long-term voice of the retail industry, with 12 years under her belt as the leader of the BRC.

Dickinson continues to champion the UK’s largest private sector employer and wield influence for the industry in the halls of Westminster.

Big and developing areas of focus for Dickinson and the BRC in 2023 included growing members for its Climate Action Roadmap – an initiative focused on retailers’ commitments on the path to net zero – and boosting industry education through the roll-out of skills programmes supporting workers in digital transformation.

However, the key landmark – and a major win for Dickinson and the BRC – came in April 2024, when UK government announced the introduction of a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker. For more than five years Dickinson has led campaigning in this area to highlight the scale of retail crime in the UK and help police allocate resources to deal with it.

The coming months will be huge for Dickinson. With a general election on the cards for the autumn, she and her team will be heavily touting the BRC manifesto for retail, which is calling for a more coordinated approach to tax and regulation.

Judith McKenna
Non-executive director, Unilever

Judith McKenna made the decision to retire as president and chief executive of Walmart International in August 2023 following 27 years with the company – firstly in senior roles at Asda in the UK before switching to the grocer’s then parent company.

She led more than 6,000 retail stores and 700,000 staff across 26 countries in her final role at Walmart. As a result, McKenna was awarded the accolade of Outstanding Contribution to Retail at the Retail Week Awards 2024 in recognition of her career where she played such a central role in shaping one of the world’s largest retailers against a backdrop of significant industry change.

Her success in a male-dominated sector, and drive to build other women up, is noteworthy. On receiving the award, McKenna dedicated it to “all the brilliant women who work in retail – on the sales floor, in the supply chain, in head offices and in boardrooms right across the globe”.

But McKenna is not ending her career there. In March, she joined Unilever as non-executive director and will bring her experience of the grocery market and developing strategy in multiple territories to the role.

She remains focused on developing people and creating opportunities for learning too. McKenna is co-chair of analytics firm KultraLab’s latest strategic report The Secret DNA of High-Performing Teams, which acts as a benchmark for retailers to gauge their store staff’s performance.

Theo Paphitis
Chair, Theo Paphitis Retail Group

Former Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis continues to be a voice for retail, using his celebrity status to lobby the government whenever he can. He is often outspoken on the business rates policy and the UK’s political leaders for not giving retail the credit it deserves as a generator of jobs and supporter of communities.

In an Evening Standard interview in February, he called the government “bloody useless”, arguing it does nothing for business and has created an uneven playing field by over-taxing companies with a physical presence versus online players. While controversial, retail needs names such as Paphitis to stand up for the sector.

Ahead of the Ryman, Boux Avenue and Robert Dyas owner filing formal trading figures for the year to March 2023, Retail Week reported the group achieved EBITDA of £2.7m, which represented an improvement of approximately £4m year on year.

Paphitis told Retail Week in April there is “no doubt that retailing, particularly on high streets, has tested us to the full, especially coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic”. It is his experience at the coalface of retail that gives Paphitis credibility when he calls for a fairer system for all in the sector.

Lord Stuart Rose
Chair, Asda

Lord Stuart Rose was knighted in 2008 for services to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility, and granted a life peerage in August 2014, but his role as an industry figurehead continues.

In April, the Conservative peer and former Marks & Spencer boss urged the government to call a general election sooner rather than later, knowing that businesses and voters need clarity about the UK’s leadership. He said if the government had been accountable to shareholders like chief executives in business are, they would have been sacked some time ago.

As chair of Asda’s board – a role he has held since 2021 – he brings over 50 years of retailing experience to a senior team that is still navigating the demands required of them in the fast-paced UK grocery sector.

With Zuber Issa having stood down as Asda co-CEO in April, and Mohsin Issa seeking to appoint a new CEO to replace himself, there are several Asda leadership issues likely to require effective stewardship and a strong voice from Lord Rose in the months ahead.

Richard Walker
Executive chair,
Iceland

After climbing Mount Everest in May 2023 to raise funds for the Iceland Food Charitable Foundation, Iceland executive chair Richard Walker navigated further difficult terrain in the UK shopping aisles last year.

Iceland announced a loss of £17.1m in the year to March 24, 2023, citing spiralling energy bills. Sales nudged up from £3.61bn in 2022 to £3.86bn in 2023, thanks to the opening of 24 stores and a strong Christmas period.

Walker is never one to shy away from big challenges or avoid what others might see as controversial or difficult retailing decisions.

A former Conservative peer, he announced his departure from the party of government in 2024, defecting to Labour, in a move that may give him more political influence following the forthcoming general election.

Walker started this year by calling for cross-party support for changes in legislation around baby milk formula pricing and marketing that he believes can improve consumers’ affordability for a vital product. Highlighting his people champion credentials, Iceland went against legislation and cut the price of its formula milk lines in 2023. Walker’s decision, which he promoted on national television, paved the way for Asda and Tesco to follow suit.

Customer inclusivity has also been a focus for Walker; in April he announced Iceland was dropping its “That’s why mums go to Iceland” to recognise its diverse shopper base.

David Wood
Chief executive, Wickes

Despite annual profit dropping 31% year on year to £52m, Wickes’ 2023 performance was ahead of expectations as the DIY retailer hailed a “robust” year in challenging circumstances for the sector.

Revenue of £1.55bn was flat, but the retailer added three new stores to its portfolio, showing a confidence in bricks and mortar. Wood has been focusing his strategy on getting closer to trade customers; its loyalty scheme TradePro has seen sales growth of 11% membership scheme, while pricing is a focus. Wood told Retail Week in March that offering comprehensive ‘good, better, best’ pricing tiers had helped.

Wood – a Retail 100 people champion this year and last – has continued to support flexible working into 2024, signing off on a nationwide initiative giving Wickes managers more flexible working hours. He was also announced as a Retail Week Future Leaders ambassador in January 2024; helping provide support to up-and-coming senior retail talent.

New for 2024 is Wickes’ £5.1m acquisition of solar panel installer Solar Fast, which gives the retailer a majority stake in a leading player in the emerging market for home energy-saving solutions. The deal shows Wood has his eye on future growth opportunities.