Date published 12 April 2022
Share
Last month we announced that Ian Dean has become Managing Director for Landscape and Building Products at Marshalls. We’re now pleased to share two more significant leadership changes which demonstrate our commitment to growth, development and innovation.
Simon Bourne, Chief Operating Officer
Recognising the continuing importance of business transformation and growth within Marshalls, Simon Bourne has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer. Simon has also been appointed to the Marshalls plc board and has worked for the business for almost seven years, most recently as Group Operations Director.
In recent years, Simon has made several significant changes to the operations function at Marshalls, including the integration of business acquisitions into existing operations. He has ensured that this vital part of the business is customer-focused, both through a successful restructure and the launch of many NPD projects that bring innovation to the market. Simon’s role is also instrumental in the carbon reduction ambition of Marshalls, which is to become net zero by 2030.
Simon is the Chair of MPA British Precast. Before working at Marshalls, he operated across a number of different sectors ranging from textiles, printing & packaging, media, and food.
Of the appointment, Martyn Coffey said “It is vital that we have this new role providing challenge and guidance across the wider organisation, and Simon’s experience makes him ideally placed for this.”
Louise Furness, Chief People and ESG Officer
Demonstrating a further investment in sustainability, Marshalls has appointed Louise Furness to drive strategy and change as Chief People and ESG Officer. This new role will see Louise lead the business’ sustainability work in its broadest sense; creating better futures for everyone through a continued focus on strong ethical, environmental and corporate social responsibility principles. Louise takes this on in addition to her existing responsibilities for people strategy within the business, she will work alongside Chris Harrop OBE who is ESG Strategy Director on a part-time basis.
Louise joined Marshalls in 2018 as Group HR Director, in that time she has successfully spearheaded a change in the culture and engagement agendas for the business, raising the importance of talent, skills development and agility. Louise has extensive experience of driving people change and transformation in multi-national contexts.
Louise said: “I’m proud to represent Marshalls by taking responsibility for this key area. We’ve built a great heritage over the years thanks to the hard work of Chris Harrop OBE, and I’m looking forward to building on our position of strength, with continuing advice and support from Chris. Our strategy remains clear; doing things right for customers, colleagues and the other partners we have in businesses. It’s what we call The Marshalls Way. ”
Commenting on the appointment, Martyn Coffey CEO said “Louise is a well-established member of the Marshalls executive team and has contributed to the shaping of our ESG agenda as a part of that. It was a logical step to ask her to take on increased responsibilities, which I know she is passionate about, and to work within the business to continue to drive change and improvement. I am delighted she accepted my challenge!”
The year ahead at Marshalls
The recent leadership changes come as we announced record financial results last month. We have seen strong trading in the first months of 2022 and our £24m investment in a new plant in St Ives is well underway and on track to bring increased capacity and product choice to the market. In addition, we have also announced that we have entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Marley Group plc (Marley) at a value of £535 million.