Mothercare’s interim chief customer officer Andy Harding is quitting the business after just two months to take over as boss of stock photography company Alamy.
As revealed by Retail Week, the former House of Fraser executive only joined Mothercare in July, but will leave at the end of his contract.
But Harding, who is highly regarded in the retail industry for his multichannel expertise, has now bagged a top job outside of the sector.
Alamy, which was founded in 1999, has grown to boast an online archive of 110 million images, illustrations, vectors and videos, contributed by agencies and independent photographers or collected from news archives and museums.
Harding held roles at BHS, Carphone Warehouse and Ryman before joining House of Fraser as director of ecommerce in January 2011.
He went on to become executive director of multichannel and then chief customer officer prior to his departure in August 2016.
Harding was drafted in by Mothercare earlier this year to help drive boss Mark Newton-Jones’ turnaround strategy, but his stint with the nursery and maternity specialist proved to be short-lived.
He will take up his new role at Alamy on December 4, when the firm’s co-founder and chief executive James West will become chairman after 18 years in charge.
Harding said: “I am very excited to be joining Alamy to lead the business into the next stage of its growth story.
“James and the team have built a fantastic company, creating the most diverse stock photography library in the world, and I am looking forward to the challenge of taking the business into new markets, developing innovative solutions as to how new customer demands will be met.”
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