Comptoir Group chair and CEO step down

Comptoir Group has announced that the group’s CEO, Chaker Hanna, and chair, Richard Kleiner, have both stepped down with immediate effect. 

As a result, Beatrice Lafon and Jean-Michel Orieux have been appointed to the board with immediate effect as independent non-executive chair and independent non-executive director, respectively.

It is reported that Lafon has operated at CEO level for nearly 20 years and as a non-executive director for over five years. She has a strong record in the launch, turnaround and profitable development of major retail businesses in the UK, Europe and the USA and was previously a non-executive director of Pizza Express and SuperDry.

Orieux also has expertise in the consumer and hospitality sectors as the former CEO of Ping Pong, where he formulated and implemented a turnaround and brand strategy to drive international expansion. He also became CEO of Paul UK and USA in 2013 before joining the board in 2018. 

The reconstituted board intends to commence an immediate thorough and independent search for a new CEO through an executive search firm. Both internal and external candidates will be considered

In the interim period, Orieux will become interim CEO until the new candidate is appointed.

Lafon said: “I am excited to be joining Comptoir as we look to the future. Our employees are central to our success and I look forward to meeting our talented staff and ensuring we appoint a best-in-class CEO to lead this exciting next phase.”