Knoops makes senior appointments to board amid expansion plans
Andrew Gerrie has been appointed as chair, Martin Long joins as NED, Jo Brett is the new COO and Kai Hepworth has been appointed as UK MD
Knoops has made four new appointments to the board and management team as it looks to accelerate expansion plans in the UK and abroad.
Lush co-founder and former Hotel Chocolat chair, Andrew Gerrie, is stepping up to the role of chair having joined the company in January as a NED.
Gerrie is joined on the board by Martin Long, who has been appointed as a NED. Long brings his accountancy and management experience having served as CFO and CEO across his career to date. He has extensive experience in scaling store-based and on-line businesses to international household names – specifically, as former CEO of Game Group PLC.
In addition, Jo Brett joins as chief operating officer, reporting to CEO William Gordon-Harris. Brett brings 25 years F&B experience, where she held various executive roles including president at Pret A Manger US, CEO of Hotel Chocolat Saint Lucia, and most recently, senior vice president of Starbucks Middle East and North Africa for the Alshaya Group.
Kai Hepworth, previously operations director at Marston’s, Costa Coffee and Bill’s, joins as managing director of the UK, reporting to Brett.
William Gordon-Harris, CEO of Knoops, said: “I’m delighted to welcome such an outstanding group of senior industry figures to Knoops. They bring with them vast experience of helping to grow and run brands of all kinds around the world.
“Their choice to work at Knoops should be taken as a clear signal that Knoops is set for high paced global growth.”
