Simon Roberts to replace Mike Coupe as Sainsbury’s CEO in June

After almost six years as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and fifteen years working for J Sainsbury plc (Sainsbury’s), Mike Coupe has decided to retire later this year.The company’s board has appointed retail and operations director Simon Roberts as Coupe’s successor, who will start as Chief Executive Officer from June 1, 2020.

Commenting on the development, Martin Scicluna, the company’s Chairman, said in a statement: “Mike is an exceptional Chief Executive. His knowledge and understanding of the retail sector and customer behaviour is second to none. Mike has spent more than fifteen years working for Sainsbury’s and he has added enormous value to the business, to our colleagues and to our shareholders over that time. The Board and I are very grateful to him for his service and we look forward to continuing to work together until the AGM.”

Simon Roberts to take over as Sainsbury’s CEO

The company said that Coupe will remain a Director from 1st June until the AGM on 2nd July 2020, at which point he will retire from the company.

“I am delighted to be able to confirm Simon Roberts as Mike’s successor. Simon has been extremely effective during his three years at Sainsbury’s, leading our store teams through great change in that time. I and the Board are looking forward to working closely with him over the coming years,” added Scicluna.

“Sainsbury’s is a tremendous business, with over 27 million customers a week and market-leading brands across food, general merchandise, clothing and financial services. Sainsbury’s is led by a highly experienced and committed management team and I am really excited about working together with our 178,000 colleagues to become one multi brand, multi channel business,” said Roberts on his appointment as the next CEO of Sainsbury’s.

Commenting on his retirement plan, Coupe said: “I feel very privileged to have spent almost six years running Sainsbury’s, in a period that has been the most challenging and competitive of my 35 year career in retail. Sainsbury’s is a very different business today to the one I took over in 2014. There is never a good time to move on, but as we and the industry continue to evolve, I believe now is the right time for me to hand over to my successor. I am delighted that Simon will be the next Chief Executive and am confident that he is the right choice for our customers, our colleagues and our investors.”

Picture:Mike Coupe via J Sainsbury media centre