B&M chair Peter Bamford set to retire after six-year stint

Bamford has held the role at the variety discounter since March 2018, replacing Sir Terry Leahy who was chair for five years.

The group said a date has not been set and Bamford will continue as chair to ensure an “orderly handover” to his successor.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, B&M said an executive search firm has been appointed and recruitment for a new chair will be led by senior independent director Tiffany Hall.

Bamford was formerly a director at Vodafone and has had extensive experience in board and senior executive positions with retailers such as WHSmith, Tesco and Kingfisher.

B&M chief executive Alex Russo said: “Peter has been a great business partner since I joined the business in 2020. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him, both personally and professionally. His unrelenting drive in reinforcing the B&M culture at board level has been of the first order. We wish him all the best in his next personal project.”

Bamford said: “It has been a privilege to chair B&M over the last six years. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with both current CEO Alex Russo and his predecessor Simon Arora, as well as the rest of my board colleagues. 

“The business has laid strong foundations and is trading well. B&M has a high-class leadership team in place, and we have managed succession to all the key board positions over the last two years. 

“While I will miss B&M when I step down as chair, I feel that now is a good time for the company to commence the process of transition to a new chair.”