Halfords goes large with new CEO appointment

WEST Midlands leisure and auto parts retailer Halfords has ended its search for a new CEO.

The Redditch-based plc has appointed Jill McDonald to the role. She is currently CEO, UK & president, north west division, Europe for the fast food giant McDonald’s.

She takes over from Matt Davies who resigned as Halfords’ CEO in January to take up the same position at Tesco.

McDonald joined McDonald’s in 2006 as chief marketing officer UK & northern Europe and was appointed to her current role in 2010.
 
Her responsibilities at McDonald’s encompass around 3,300 owned and franchised restaurants across seven countries, more than 500 franchisees and more than 200,000 staff. 

She began her career in 1987 at Colgate Palmolive in brand management and joined British Airways in 1990 where she held a number of marketing and management roles in the UK and Hong Kong, rising to head of global marketing in 2004.
 
Halfords chairman Dennis Millard said: “When the board began the search for a new CEO we were clear that we were looking for an outstanding business leader, particularly someone who had built and nurtured a culture of customer service and colleague engagement in a consumer facing business. So we are delighted to have recruited Jill, who has a strong track record of heading a large, complex, service-led business with great success.

“Jill will lead our high-calibre team and further develop Halfords’ successful service-based growth strategy. I’m really excited that we have attracted someone of Jill’s calibre who will build on what we’ve achieved over the last few years and we all really look forward to working with her.”
 
McDonald said: “Halfords is a business and brand that resonates with me and the UK public and I am delighted to be joining the company. 

“Halfords has already made significant progress in delivering its service-led growth strategy and I look forward to joining such a strong team to continue to build on that success.”
 
McDonald is also a  non-executive director of Intercontinental Hotels Group plc.