Clarks strengthens team with key appointments

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jul 11, 2017

Shoe retailer Clarks has announced the appointment of three new board members, an Asia-Pacific regional president and a new managing director for Europe.

Tanya Cordrey and Tobias Zimmerer have joined the board of directors as independent non-executive directors, while incoming chief financial director Paul Kenyon is to become executive director on 9 August.

Tobias Zimmerer is a prominent footwear expert with extensive experience within the shoe industry, having worked at Gabor shoes, Schuh-Union and served as chairman and CEO of the Ara Group. He currently acts as a consultant for various international companies in industry and commerce including the Tata Group and Deichmann.  

Tanya Cordrey is a senior digital adviser and consultant to both large companies and start-ups, specialising in digital strategy, product innovation and digital transformation. She has held leadershop positions at eBay, Zopa, Guardian News & Media and Schibsted.

With these appointments, the Clarks board of directors is 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.

“I am delighted to welcome Tanya and Tobias as non-executive directors and Paul as an executive director,” said Clarks chairman Tom O’Neill. “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.”

The British retailer has also hired Jack Quinlan to lead its Asia-Pacific operations as new regional president, and Ben Fletcher as new managing director for the European region.