Harvey Nichols reshuffles top team as CEO becomes deputy chairman

Luxury department store group Harvey Nichols has restructured its top team as Stacey Cartwright has stepped aside from her CEO role to become deputy chairman.

Cartwright was brought into the business from Burberry four years ago to replace Joseph Wan. Her role will not be directly replaced but instead Harvey Nichols has made two internal promotions to fill joint co-chief operating officer positions, which will have responsibility for the day-to-day running of the business.

Stacey Cartwright

Daniela Rinaldi, group commercial director of Harvey Nichols, and Manju Malhotra, group finance director, will step up to the new roles in January and will report to Cartwright and chairman Sir Dickson Poon, the Hong Kong billionaire who bought the business in 1991.

The business said that Cartwright's new part-time role would enable her to pursue other non-executive roles and interests. She said of Rinaldi and Malhotra, who have been with Harvey Nichols since 1986 and 1998 respectively: "Daniela and Manju each bring a wealth of experience to their new roles, with highly complementary skill sets. I’m delighted to be announcing their promotions and I look forward to working alongside them."

Cartwright was given the remit of "supercharging" Harvey Nichols when she arrived from Burberry. During her time at the helm the flagship Knightsbridge store has undergone a significant refurbishment that has involved the introduction of new services and experiences such as blow-dry bars and a handbag clinic. However the costs and distruption did hit the business' bottom line as profits dropped 49% to £3m in the fiscal year 2015-2016 on revenue up 1% at £194m.