Veteran CFO hired at Card Factory
Veteran chief financial officer Kris Lee has been appointed to Card Factory.
The greetings card retailer has appointed Lee to the board. He joins after extensive experience in the retail sector.
He was formerly group CFO of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, which has more than 1,000 stores across its brand portfolio which included Peacocks, Jane Norman, Ponden Home as well as companies that went into administration last year including Austin Reed, and its brands Country Casuals and Viyella.
The role encompassed wide commercial and strategic responsibilities including finance, IT, ecommerce, distribution, M&A and business turnarounds.
Prior to this, Lee held senior finance roles at Brighthouse Retail, General Healthcare Group and Caudwell Group. He also spent 14 years at Allsports (Retail) and the John David Group (now JD Sports Fashion plc).
Lee will succeed Darren Bryant whose retirement was announced in January after eight years with the group. He has a 12 month notice period.
Karen Hubbard, CEO of Card Factory, said: “In Kris, we have found an outstanding successor to Darren who has made a significant contribution to the sustained growth of Card Factory over the past eight years and leaves with our best wishes for the future.
“Kris has significant financial and commercial experience within retail and a clear passion for the sector. He also has the energy, drive and entrepreneurial mindset that will fit well with the Card Factory culture and will be invaluable as we move forward with our growth strategy. I very much look forward to working with him.”
Kris Lee said: “Card Factory has a fantastic track record of growth and is a business I have admired greatly for a number of years. I am very excited to be joining and look forward to working with Karen, the Board and all Card Factory colleagues.”
