Joules, the Market Harborough-based lifestyle group, has revealed that Jonathon Brown will become its new Chief Executive Officer.
This follows the announcement in May 2022 that Nick Jones would be stepping down from the role during 2022. Jonathon will initially join the group as CEO designate on 7 September 2022 and will become CEO on 30 September following a short handover period from Nick.
Jonathon is a proven leader with a strong track record of improving performance and implementing strategic transformation programmes across several digital and retail businesses. He started his career in various marketing and digital roles, including at Schroders, British Airways and Coca-Cola.
He has held senior positions at Aviva, where he was head of e-Channels, Kingfisher, where he was director of Multichannel, and John Lewis, where he was Omnichannel director. He was previously CEO of MandM Direct, where he executed a successful turnaround plan, and COO of Photobox Group, where he led the strategic, commercial, and organisational transformation of the group, working across the brand portfolio including PhotoBox and Moonpig.
Most recently, Jonathon was CEO of Compare the Market, part of BGL Group, where he led the business through a successful period of strategic transformation and growth.
Jonathon Brown said: “I am delighted to have been selected to lead Joules at such an important time in its development. Joules is a very strong brand, with a highly relevant purpose and product proposition. The group’s digitalisation in recent years as well as its increased customer base mean it has very solid foundations for the future.
“Whilst there have been some headwinds in the past year, I am very excited by the business’s future opportunities. The group is making strong progress against its clear plans to improve profitability by simplifying the business and optimising the cost base. I look forward to working closely with the Joules team to return the business to sustainable, profitable growth and optimise the significant future opportunities available to us.”
Ian Filby, non-executive chairman of Joules, said: “The Board was in unanimous agreement that, amongst some very high calibre candidates, Jonathan was the standout choice to be our new CEO. He has significant experience across the retail and digital industries, a proven track-record of delivering business transformation, and the vision and ambition to lead Joules through the next stages of its development. The Board has every confidence in him, and we look forward to working closely together over the coming years.
“I would again like to place on record the group’s thanks to Nick for his contributions during his time with Joules, and in particular his continued outstanding commitment and drive over recent months. Under Nick’s leadership Joules has made good progress against its strategy to develop as a digital-led lifestyle group and, more recently, he has spearheaded the implementation of several important strategic initiatives that the Board believes will underpin the group’s future success.”
