Johnstons of Elgin CEO Simon Cotton steps down

Johnstons of Elgin has appointed Chris Gaffney as its new CEO, as Simon Cotton announces that he is stepping down to "move on to new things".

Born in Hawick where the brand has its knitwear factory, Gaffney previously held the roles of both Group Finance Director and Managing Director (Elgin Mill) with the Scottish mill. He has served on the Board of Directors since he joined the heritage brand in 2011.

Cotton has been the CEO of Johnstons of Elgin since 2013. Prior to this, he spent 11 years in textiles at Russell Europe, before a five-year role fr Swiss group Franke Kitchen.

He said of his departure: "I joined Johnstons of Elgin almost eight years ago and it has been a tremendous privilege to be part of this amazing team. Coming out of the pandemic was the perfect time to review my future and I feel that now, after we have successfully navigated the last two challenging years, it is the perfect time for me to move on to new things.

"The shareholders and I share a love of the company and a belief that Johnstons will continue to prosper thanks to the strong plans in place. I leave the business in the very capable hands and will be watching the company’s next steps with excitement and pride."

Jenny Urquhart, Johnstons of Elgin Chairman added: "Simon‘s strong and sincerely thoughtful leadership has steered us through an eight-year period with exceptional success.  He’s inspired us all and he has carried out his job to great effect with a strong succession now in place to continue moving forwards. Simon leaves Johnstons with our sincere gratitude and warmest wishes."