Executive reshuffle at Pentland Brands as CEO moves to parent company role

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 8, 2020

Andy Long has been replaced as chief executive officer at Pentland Brands Limited as he is joining parent company Pentland Group Limited as a director.

Chirag Patel, former deputy chief executive officer, has taken the helm at the British group, which owns sportswear and outdoor brands including Berghaus, Canterbury and Speedo.

Patel has been part of the Pentland Brands executive team since 2016, when he was appointed as director of global strategy after having worked in leadership roles across the Mitre and Lacoste brands. 

He also served as chief operating officer before taking up the deputy CEO role. As COO, he led marketing and product across all brands, the US business operations and the team responsible for the acquisition of SeaVees, Endura and the Speedo North America license.

Other executive changes announced by Pentland include the appointment of former White Stuff customer director Penny Herriman as chief marketing officer and Jon Godden’s promotion to chief operating officer. He is currently chief HR officer and in his new role he will lead the IT, HR, legal, portfolio, project management and workplace functions.
 
Charlotte Cox, currently brand director of team sports (Canterbury and Mitre), has been appointed president EMEA and will be responsible for the commercial teams across the region. She replaces Richard Newcombe, who will take on responsibility for developing footwear opportunities, alongside his ownership of the Lacoste JV relationship.

Dominique Highfield will join the executive team as director of finance, while the role of chief finance officer has been made redundant following a restructure. CFO Katrina Nurse will leave the business at the end of September. 

CEO Andy Long, who is taking over a new job as a director at Pentland Group Limited with responsibility for various activities including the finance, tax and banking relationships, said: “I would like to wish Chirag and the new executive team all the best in leading the next phase of business growth at Pentland Brands and I would like to thank Katrina Nurse for her contribution over two years and wish her well for the future.”

The company said the executive reshuffle is a result of a strategic business review aimed at driving increased emphasis on sustainability and bigger opportunities for its core brands.