Mothercare appoints interim CEO

Mother and baby retailer Mothercare has appointed Mark Newton-Jones as interim chief executive following

the resignation of Simon Calver last month, who is departing the retailer at the end of March.

Newton-Jones, who was group chief executive of Shop Direct for over nine years, will join Mothercare from March 17 and will report directly into the chairman. As this is an interim appointment he will not be formally appointed to the board and the retailer will continue its search for a permanent CEO.

Commenting on the appointment, Alan Parker, chairman of Mothercare, said: “We are delighted to have secured the appointment of Mark as our interim CEO. His leadership skills and depth of experience in retailing through stores and online will further enhance our drive to deliver the recovery of the UK business to complement the strong and growing international operations.”

Newton-Jones added: "I'm very much looking forward to working alongside Alan, the Board and the Executive team of Mothercare, and to help in the transformation of the UK business whilst we continue to grow the successful international division."