Key leadership changes at Subway

By Aron Lewin

Trevor Haynes, Subway’s president of North America, has announced that he will leave the global franchise at the end of this year. Haynes, who started in Australia as territory manager in 2006, has previously held roles including chief business development officer and interim CEO.

Douglas Fry, currently the country director for Subway Canada, will replace Haynes, effective September 5. The pair will work together as part of a transition process, with Haynes acting as strategic advisor. Subway is actively seeking a successor for the country director of Subway Canada.

Meanwhile, Carrie Walsh, formerly Subway’s global chief marketing officer, will become president of the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa region, overseeing more than 6,200 franchise locations.

As part of the shakeup, Mike Kehoe, who was EMEA president, will return to the US as part of the newly formed chief development officer role. He will be responsible for formulating the company’s global strategy around traditional and non-traditional development.

Finally, Cristina Wells has been appointed Subway’s senior vice president of marketing in the US

These changes form part of the company’s multi-year transformation journey, with the brand seeking to continue 10 consecutive quarters of positive sales.

Penfolds appoints new global director

By Aron Lewin

Penfolds, which is owned by parent company Treasury Wines Estates, has announced that Michael Jackson will become global director of its global travel division, effective September 18.

Previously the head of independent retail and on-premises for Penfolds, Jackson will be tasked with growing Penfolds’ general trade, while also helping to position the brand as a luxury icon. Jackson has experience working in commercial roles for Dan Murphy’s and Endeavour Group. 

He replaces Daevid Warren – who has been appointed sales director of the EMEA region.

Penfolds has also appointed Yanmei Lin as customer marketing manager for global travel across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, and Wilson Leong as sales manager for global travel across Southeast Asia and South Asia.

Dusk appoints new head of IT

By Aron Lewin

Padam Joshi recently announced on LinkedIn that he has been appointed as the new head of IT for specialty home fragrance retailer, Dusk Australasia.

Joshi was previously IT support manager for the Retail Apparel Group.

It follows the appointment of Vlad Yakubson as CEO and managing director of the Dusk Group in April, replacing Peter King in the role.

Yakubson, who also joins Dusk from Retail Apparel Group, is due to commence no later than 31 October, but an exact start date has not been announced. 

Harvey Nichols CEO quits

By Tong Van

Manju Malhotra is set to step down from her role as Harvey Nichols’ CEO after 25 years with the business.

Malhotra, who took on the role in January 2020, is to leave the company at the end of this year. Pearson Poon, executive director of Harvey Nichols’ parent company Dickson Concepts, will oversee the business as vice chairman until a new CEO is found. 

In Hong Kong, Poon was behind the digital evolution of the Harvey Nichols business, with the world’s first blue-chip non-fungible tokens (NFT) retail concept space and the revamp of Harvey Nichols’ beauty loyalty program in the city. 

“Manju was instrumental in driving Harvey Nichols through the unprecedented times of a global pandemic and temporary store closures, laying out strong foundations which we will continue to build on for the future,” the company said.

The Telegraph said her departure comes after “a clash with the luxury retailer’s Chinese owner Dickson Poon over her plans for the business”. The source said while she was seeking “significant changes” to spur growth for the loss-making business, Dickson Concepts believed the business is successful and the existing strategy is working. 

In an email to Inside Retail, a London-based spokesperson for the company denied there was a rift.

“Manju made the decision to leave on amicable terms and is working up until the end of the year to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible,” said the spokesperson. “A clash between Manju and the owner is categorically untrue.”

The British department store business reported a £30 million loss ($59 million) for the year ended May 2022 compared to £2.7 million profit in 2020.