New JD finance chief completes Schultz overhaul
JD Sports has appointed Dominic Platt as Chief Financial Officer and board member, a former colleague of the chief executive Régis Schultz from their time together at retail group Darty plc.
Platt is currently CFO of BGL Group, one of the UK’s leading digital distributors of financial services and owner of Compare the Market and a non-executive director of N Brown, currently subject to share raids by JD rival Frasers Group.
He was Group Finance Director and Managing Director of International Businesses at Darty from 2010 to 2015 and worked for 18 years at Cable and Wireless Plc both in the UK and internationally.
Neil Greenhalgh, JD’s current Group CFO, will leave the business later in the summer having completed the publication of the annual report for the last financial year.
Platt’s appointment completes the strategic and executive overhaul of JD since Schultz took over the reins from Peter Cowgill in 2022.
Since joining he has simplified the retail brands and focused on growing in international markets. Earlier this week TheBusinessDesk.com reported that JD was to purchase French sports retail group Courir for €520m (including debt), its first acquisition since Schultz’s expansion strategy was presented in February, ‘A New Distinct Chapter in the Growth Story of JD’ which outlined how JD will become the leading global sports-fashion specialist in the next five years.
Schultz said: “Having worked closely with Dominic before, I am certain his financial expertise, deep knowledge of governance and strategic counsel will be crucial in helping to drive forward the next chapter in the global growth story of JD.
“I would also like to thank Neil Greenhalgh for his significant contribution to JD’s success since he first joined in 2004, and as CFO since 2018, and wish him all the best for his future.”
Dominic Platt commented: “I very much look forward to working with Régis and the team to build on JD’s huge success to date and to execute on the strategy it has set out. JD has a clear ambition to become the leading global sports-fashion powerhouse and I am excited to support the group in realising its strategic vision.”
