Heart of England Co-operative Society has announced the appointment of Steve Browne as its new chief executive.
He will assume the role at the beginning of October, succeeding Ali Kurji who is due to retire at the end of September following 42 years of service, of which 20 were at the helm.
Browne joined the consumer cooperative in 2018 as general manager of the food division and currently oversees 37 convenience stores and two Bewiched branded coffee shops across Coventry, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire.
Prior to that, he held a string of senior retail management positions including head of convenience at McColl’s Retail Group, retail operations director at Xcel Retail and head of retail at Nisa Retail.
Brown said he feels “privileged and humbled” to be taking over the leadership of “a proudly independent organisation and building on its rich heritage which stretches back 190 years.”
Heart of England Co-op is set to hold its annual members’ meeting next week on 9 May.
