Superdry appoints new Chairman

Superdry has announced the appointment of its new Chairman, Peter Sjölander, effective 29th April 2021, as current chairman Peter Williams steps down on the same day.

Sjölander has previously had a successful executive career across public company, private equity and founder-led environments. From 2007 to 2015 Peter was CEO of Helly Hansen, where he drove its transition from being a business focused on local Scandinavian markets to a globally recognised brand.

Most recently he has held a number of senior advisory and non-executive roles, including working with leading private equity funds where he has advised a number of brands and digital consumer businesses within their portfolios, overseeing their growth and successful technology implementations.

Earlier in his career Sjölander spent 13 years at Nike in a number of leadership roles across marketing, product and general management, working in the Nordics, Netherlands and USA at a time of rapid growth for the brand.

Peter will join the Superdry Board as an independent non-executive director on 29th April 2021 and on the same date Peter Williams will step down as Chairman and from the Board.

Julian Dunkerton, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Superdry, said: "Peter has a tremendous track record of driving value creation and is a true digitally-focused brand leader.

"The turnaround of Helly Hansen that he led when he was CEO, building a globally recognised brand with significant eCommerce revenues, was highly impressive, and through his work with leading global brands such as Nike, he has accumulated fantastic brand, digital and international experience, all of which will be invaluable as we emerge from the challenges of COVID and accelerate the reset of Superdry. I'm delighted we have been able to attract someone of his calibre as Chair of Superdry and I'm looking forward to working with him.

"I would also like to thank Peter Williams for his support over the past two years. He has played a really important role since I returned to Superdry, in particular working with me to put in place a strong Board and management team to enable us to deliver on our ambition, and I'm extremely grateful to him for all he's done for the business.'

Peter Sjölander, incoming Chairman, added: "I am delighted to have been appointed as Chairman of Superdry, a world class brand which I have admired for many years. The Board, Julian and the Executive Team have a clear vision for the business and have made a great start on the reset, and I am really looking forward to working with everyone to restore Superdry to its rightful position as a leading global brand."

The appointment of a new Chairman follows the appointment of Shaun Wills as Chief Financial Officer, who will join the business from today.

In December 2020, Founder Julian Dunkerton was appointed as permanent Chief Executive, following his return to the top job after a boardroom coup.