McColl's chief commercial officer Crampton steps down

McColl’s Retail said on Friday that Richard Crampton plans to resign as chief commercial officer to take up the role of director of fresh food and food services at Sainsbury’s.

Crampton has stepped down with immediate effect, and McColl’s has agreed to release him from his contractual notice obligation on 18 February, after an orderly handover.

Chief operating officer Karen Bird will assume responsibility for Commercial alongside her existing duties, the retailer said, and the role of CCO will not be replaced.

McColl’s said Bird has extensive experience in convenience and food retail. Prior to joining, she spent more than 25 years with Tesco, including "leading significant change programmes".

Chief executive Jonathan Miller said: "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Richard for the valuable contribution he has made to the business over the past two years, and to wish him every success in his future role.

"I am delighted that Karen will now be incorporating commercial into the role of COO. Karen has made a significant contribution to the business since joining in 2016 and has been instrumental in leading the Morrisons Daily rollout. With these changes I am confident that we have a strong team in place to implement our strategy, and that the rollout of Morrisons Daily will deliver long-term sustainable growth."