Ted Baker, the global lifestyle brand, today announces the appointment of Rachel Osborne as Chief Executive Officer.
Rachel, whose appointment will be effective immediately, has more than 20 years’ of relevant brand and retail sector experience. She joined Ted Baker as Chief Financial Officer in November 2019, before being appointed as Acting Chief Executive Officer in December 2019.
Rachel joined Ted Baker from Debenhams, where she had worked as Chief Financial Officer. Previous roles include Chief Financial Officer at Domino’s Pizza Group plc, Finance Director of Group Enterprise at Vodafone and Finance & Strategy Director at John Lewis. She has also held senior positions at Sodexo, Kingfisher and PepsiCo.
During her short tenure at Ted Baker, Rachel has been leading a significant period of change and transformation, including the development of key strategic priorities and the announcement of the sale and leaseback of the company’s headquarters at a significant premium to book value.
Further to the appointment of Rachel as CEO, the Board confirms that the search for a Chairman is progressing well. Sharon Baylay will continue to lead the Board as Acting Chair in the interim period.
The Board also confirms that Jennifer Roebuck, currently a non-executive director on the PLC Board, will be taking up her previously announced leadership role of Chief Customer Officer (CCO) on 1st April and will therefore be stepping down from her non-executive position on the PLC Board on that date.
Sharon Baylay, Acting Chair of Ted Baker, said:
“Following a thorough and competitive search process, the Board is delighted that Rachel is being appointed as Chief Executive.
“Rachel has already made a significant contribution to Ted Baker, working tirelessly in recent months to develop a transformation plan for the business. She has brought hugely relevant retail and customer experience and is ideally positioned to lead Ted Baker’s turnaround in the future.”
Rachel Osborne, Chief Executive Officer said:
“The time I have spent at Ted Baker has quickly confirmed to me what a special business this is. We have challenges to face into in the coming months, not least the significant uncertainty caused by COVID-19, but I am confident that we will succeed through the hard work of our colleagues and the strength of our brand.
“Over the last few months we have put together a clear plan to transform Ted Baker and ensure its long-term success. I look forward to leading the business through this critical period of change and seeing the benefits of our plan come to fruition.”
