BP appoints former M&S exec to push convenience ambitions

BP has announced the appointment of former M&S executive David Phillpot as its convenience Trading Director, Europe.

He joins the forecourt operator from M&S and brings over 25 years of experience in food retail roles. In his most recent role as franchise director, Phillpot led relationships and commercial plans with all of the M&S franchise partners, including BP. Previously, he held the position of Trading Director of convenience food at M&S, overseeing key categories including ready meals, food on the move and desserts.

In his newly created role, Phillpot will report to Jo Hayward, BP’s VP for convenience in Europe who is also responsible for global proposition development. He will play a key role in driving performance and convenience retail growth across BP’s European network of over 3,000 company-owned stores, as well as maximising its grocery partnerships with retailers like Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, Auchan in Poland, REWE in Germany and M&S in the UK.

Hayward commented, “We are delighted to welcome David to BP as we continue to deliver our exciting growth ambitions for our convenience retail business. With a proven track record of delivering outstanding results at M&S, David brings valuable expertise to our team. I cannot wait for him to get started.”

Phillpot added, “With ambitious growth plans in convenience retailing and EV charging across Europe, joining the business at such a transformative phase promises an exciting opportunity to drive growth and performance in the rapidly evolving mobility and convenience sector. I am excited to begin this next chapter of my career, meeting teams, partners, and customers across Europe.”

Convenience is one of BP’s five transition growth engines, along with EV charging, hydrogen, bioenergy, and renewables and power. By 2030, the group aims to double its convenience gross margin, targeting 10 per cent year-on-year growth, and increase its number of convenience sites globally to more than 3,500.

Phillpot is the latest in a number of recent hires from the retail sector by BP. These include Claire Farrant as VP marketing from Lidl, Joanne Hall as UK retail operations director from Sainsbury’s and Doris Beger as senior trading manager, Germany with experience at Fresh Solutions, REWE and Walmart.