JD Sports has appointed Régis Schultz as its incoming chief executive

JD Sports' new flagship store on Oxford Street

JD Sports carried out an “extensive global search process” to find a new CEO

Schultz will join the business in September, after what the retailer has described as an “extensive global search process”.

The appointment marks a commitment from the sports and fashion retailer to drive its international growth. 

JD Sports executive chair and chief executive Peter Cowgill exited the business in May following governance concerns.

Interim chief executive Kath Smith will hand over her duties to Schultz next month and retake her position as senior independent director on JD Sports’ board.

Schultz joins from Dubai-based conglomerate Al-Futtaim Group, where he has been director of retail since 2019.

In his role, he has been responsible for launching brands such as Zara, Ikea, Hugo Boss, M&S and Lacoste into the Middle East, Asia and North Africa.

He was previously chief executive for French retailer Monoprix, and has held numerous senior roles at Kingfisher-owned business B&Q including chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

Schultz commented: “JD has consistently proven itself to be one of the most successful operators of multi-brand retail formats in the world. 

“We are committed to going deeper in the international development of our brands applying our experience and executional expertise and further enhancing our market-leading multichannel customer experience. 

“I am very excited to be joining the group and look forward to working with the team to deliver on the growth opportunities.”

JD Sports chair Andrew Higginson added: “The board has taken this opportunity to conduct a truly global search to find the right candidate to lead JD on the next stage in its development.  

“Régis brings exactly the characteristics we were looking for. He is a retailer through and through with experience across all types of retail formats. He has also delivered transformational change through digitisation in a number of his roles. 

“Finally, he has significant international experience, which will be very important as he works with myself and our senior team to execute on our growth strategy. We very much look forward to Régis joining us.” 

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