Southern Co-op said its chief executive Mark Smith, who has been leading the retailer since 2009, has decided to retire and focus on non-executive roles going forward.
He will step down on 13 June.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Mark for his outstanding leadership over more than 15 years,” Dame Janet Paraskeva, chair of the board of Southern Co-op said.
“During his time as CEO, he’s more than doubled the size of our business. In addition to significantly growing our convenience store estate, he’s successfully taken the Society into the hospitality sector, where he’s built one of the largest Starbucks franchises in the country from scratch.
“Similarly, Mark has driven the diversification of our funeral care business into completely new markets, building new operations that now directly deliver several thousand cremations and natural burials each year.”
With his strong personal commitment to sustainability, under Smith’s leadership, Southern Co-op also achieved the Queens Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development in 2022.
Smith commented: “Being able to lead this amazing group of businesses with a 150-year history has been a huge privilege. Everything that’s been achieved reflects the talent and hard work of an incredible team of more than 4,000 people who make Southern Co-op what it is today. It’s been a pleasure working with the team on delivering such a wide range of plans.”
Southern Co-op said Ben Stimson, currently serving as the chief operating officer at the Bank of England, will take over as chief executive later this year.
Stimson’s extensive consumer experience includes leadership roles at Waitrose, where he served as both retail director and digital director, and previously, at Sky.
“Ben will bring his very wide range of consumer and leadership experience to the role of CEO,” Paraskeva said.
“This will be hugely valuable as he works with the board to develop plans for the medium term and beyond, building on the success of recent years to ensure our co-op remains relevant and successful in the long term.”
Stimson said: “I’m delighted to be joining such a purpose led business with strong foundations and a clear sense of its future. I look forward to picking up Mark’s impressive legacy and working with the team to deliver the next stage in Southern Co-op’s future evolution.”
