Caltex (ASX:CTX) has announced a key appointment as part of its Freedom of Convenience strategy. Following a global search, Richard Pearson has been appointed to the role of Executive General Manager, Convenience Retail.
Richard Pearson has had an extensive career spanning leadership roles in both the UK and Australia at prominent FMCG organisations such as Proctor and Gamble and United Biscuits as well as innovative retailers including the supermarket retailer ASDA and Coles here in Australia.
At Coles, Richard’s responsibilities encompassed retail operations including Coles Express, merchandising, marketing and strategy. Richard was most recently a member of the executive team, leading the Coles supply chain, which is one of Australia’s largest and most complex.
An expert in transformative market strategy, Richard has a track record in disruptive business models with a focus on fresh food and working with local producers, which was important in his selection for the role.
Caltex Managing Director and CEO, Julian Segal said, “Richard Pearson takes on the role of Executive General Manager, Convenience Retail at a key time in Caltex’s expansion into the convenience market, and joins a growing team of retail talent to drive the strategy and deliver a better and more convenient option to customers.”
Caltex’s February 2017 launch of The Foodary and partnerships with fresh food providers, such as Nashi, Sumo Salad, Boost Juice and Guzman Y Gomez have underpinned the Freedom of Convenience strategy outlined by Mr Segal.
“Each week, we serve more than three million customers throughout Australia who are looking for options to make life more convenient, which led us to rethink and reinvent convenience,” Mr Segal said.
“We recognise that our strategy requires the right talent to both develop and deploy the right offering for our customers, so we’re delighted to welcome Richard to the Retail team at Caltex.”
Richard Pearson will start his new role at Caltex on 1 August, 2017.