Ian McDonald appointed chair of Debenhams board in the UK — Asharq Al-Awsat
British fashion retailer Debenhams has appointed Ian McDonald as chair of its board of directors. He replaces Tim Morris, who is leaving the position immediately after nearly two years in the role. The company plans to focus on rebuilding shareholder value after completing the initial stage of its transformation, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
McDonald’s return
McDonald had been a non-executive director of Debenhams since June 2017, but left the board in February after the company began raising capital. This enabled his fund, Belerion Capital, to participate in the financing.
McDonald and Belerion Capital invested about $5 million. According to LSEG, following the deal McDonald became the group’s ninth-largest investor. He is also currently chair of the board and an investor in London-listed cosmetics group Revolution Beauty, whose shares have risen by more than 60% since the start of the year.
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Other personnel changes
Debenhams was previously called Boohoo. Since the start of the year, the company’s shares have risen by 8.6%. The retailer recently reported a 13.9% increase in adjusted core profit for the first half of the year, attributing this to major brands PrettyLittleThing, boohoo and Karen Millen returning to growth.
Morris chaired the board for nearly two years and oversaw the group’s new strategy, led by chief executive Dan Finley. At the same time, Debenhams appointed Michael Stewart and Stephen Rothwell as independent non-executive directors. They have experience in capital markets, investment management, technology and consumer platforms using artificial intelligence.
