Debenhams appoints Abigail Comber as new Chief Marketing Officer

Debenhams has appointed former British Airways global head of brands and marketing Abigail Comber as its new Chief Marketing Officer.

She will join the department store on 7 January and will take over marketing, currently being managed on an interim basis by Erin Brookes.

Comber spent 24 years with British Airways, with her most recent roles being Head of Customer Experience and Global Head of Brands and Marketing. One of her notable highlights included leading BA’s sponsorship of the UK teams at the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics Games.

Since leaving BA in May 2018, she has worked with businesses developing turnaround plans led through marketing and customer experience.

In a press release Debenhams CEO Stefaan Vansteenkiste said: "Her track record speaks for itself and her experience and understanding of customer engagement and developing digital service initiatives will be particularly important as we continue to work on transforming Debenhams into a business that can compete effectively in the rapidly-changing retail environment."

Abigail Comber said: “With 19 million customers in the UK in stores and online, the opportunity to play an important part in developing Debenhams’ customer proposition for the next decade is really exciting.

The news comes just days after Debenhams announced it is to close 19 store during the month of January, which form part of its restructuring process announced last year.