Clarks announces three new additions to its board of directors

C&J Clark Limited (Clarks) has announced the appointment of two new independent non-executive directors to its board. The company said, Tanya Cordrey and Tobias Zimmerer joined with effect from July 1, 2017 and Paul Kenyon, incoming Chief Financial Officer, will also join the board as an Executive Director on August 9, 2017.

Commenting on the new additions to the Clarks board, Tom O’Neill, Chairman of the company said in a statement, “I am delighted to welcome Tanya and Tobias as non-executive directors and Paul as an executive director. Between them they will bring a wealth of experience and professional expertise to the board and support the business as it goes through an exciting period of transformation while building an agile, innovation-led global brand, fit to successfully pursue formidable opportunities ahead for Clarks.”

Clarks adds three new members to its board of directors

Zimmerer, the company said, trained as a bespoke shoemaker and has extensive experience within the shoe industry, notably at Gabor shoes and Schuh-Union. From 2001 until 2012, he served as chairman of the Ara Group and from 2009, he was also the CEO of Ara Shoes. He currently acts as a consultant for various international companies including the Tata Group and Deichmann. From June 2014 to May 2016, he was a member of the management team at the Josef Seibel Group.

Cordrey, Clarks added, is a senior digital adviser and consultant to both large companies and start-ups, specialising in digital strategy, product innovation and digital transformation. For the past three years, Cordrey was a non-executive director at Schibsted, an international media & classifieds company, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with 6,900 employees in 30 countries. Until the end of 2015, she was also chief digital officer at Guardian News & Media as part of the senior executive team. In 2015, she was named Chief Digital Officer of the Year, UK. Cordrey has also held leadership positions at eBay, Zopa, and BabyCentre.co.uk .

Kenyon, the company said, will join Clarks in August and succeeds interim CFO Mike Coley. Kenyon has held a series of senior financial roles, most recently as chief financial officer of Nomad Foods Limited. Prior to that he served as chief financial officer of Iglo Foods Holdings Limited and before joining the Iglo Group, he held a series of senior roles at AstraZeneca plc as well as at Mars, a family-owned, international enterprise.

With these appointments, the Clarks Board of Directors is now comprised of 10 members including a non-executive chairman, a senior independent director, four independent non-executive directors, two family-appointed non-executive directors and two executive directors.

Picture courtesy: MHP Communications