ScS taps John Walden as its next board chair

Furniture and flooring retailer ScS announced on Friday that John Walden would join its board as an independent non-executive director from 1 March next year.

The London-listed firm said that on joining, Walden would be non-executive chair designate, with the intention being that he would become non-executive chair of the group on 30 November 2023, on Alan Smith’s retirement.

“I am delighted that John is joining the ScS Board and will, in time, succeed me as chair of the group,” current chair Alan Smith said.

“He brings deep board level expertise in both executive and non-executive capacities, has excellent consumer driven and omnichannel experience, and has led transformational and digital change, both in the UK and US.

“John will be a great addition to the ScS team.”

Walden is currently non-executive chair of Motorpoint and SnowFox Topco - the Guernsey topco responsible for Yo Sushi and other sushi-related businesses in the UK and North America.

He previously held a number of senior roles, including as chair of Naked Wines and chair of Holland & Barrett International.

Walden was previously executive director at FTD Companies, and chief executive officer of Argos and its parent company Home Retail Group.

Before that he held several senior roles with American electronics retailer Best Buy, including executive vice-president and president of the internet division.

“I am pleased to be joining the Board at ScS - the business is a leader in its sector, and is operationally excellent with a strong balance sheet, solid board and leadership team and an opportunity and plan for improvement and growth,” John Walden said of his appointment.

“I look forward to working with the ScS team.”

At 1047 BST, shares in SCS Group were down 2.55% at 134p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.