‘Retail operations has become the training ground for successful CEOs’

Look at the backgrounds of the top 50 retail chief executives and most come from the commercial discipline, followed by finance. In recent years, strategy consulting has become more prevalent. 

However, there’s a new trend – increasingly, retail operations has been the training ground for some of the most successful CEOs. Does this reflect the way we lead and create winning teams today?

According to a Gallup study, the UK has the lowest employee engagement score in Western Europe at 8%. This means most of the workforce is doing the minimum and has little emotional attachment to their employer. Employee engagement increases productivity and companies with high engagement are 21% more profitable.

Critical to retail success is the ability to devolve responsibility to the lowest level – front-line staff in stores. For that to work, colleagues must feel valued, empowered and trusted. They respond best to bosses who have good listening skills and encourage them to express opinions.

Stuart Machin, Simon Roberts, Thierry Garnier, Steve Carson, Darcy Willson-Rymer and Mike Logue all cut their teeth running stores, regions and markets, and learned early how to serve customers, inspire large teams and lead from the front.

“Stuart Machin’s personal approach has engaged colleagues and customers, is paying off on the bottom line and proving a talent magnet”

The transformation of Marks & Spencer has been remarkable – or should I say Remarksable? Much of it is down to Stuart Machin’s open style of leadership.

The ‘Straight to Stuart/Straight from Stuart’ emails have opened a two-way dialogue; head office is now the support centre and stores are the heroes. In-store teams are encouraged to show their creativity and delight customers with TikTok videos that have gone viral. This style of empowerment would have been unthinkable under previous regimes and makes Machin accessible, relatable and human. That personal approach has engaged colleagues and customers, is paying off on the bottom line and proving a talent magnet.

Another successful CEO who has risen through the ranks is Sainsbury’s Simon Roberts. A colleague commented: “Retail is 90% execution and if you’ve been a store or area manager, you know what can be executed easily and what will just take teams away from their core focus – serving customers.”

Outgoing chief finance officer Kevin O’Byrne describes Roberts as a very inclusive leader: “He is driven in a nice way and consensual but will always ask for more. It was inevitable that Simon would become CEO – he had widespread support across the business.”

At Kingfisher, many of the banner chief executives have come through retail operations, including group CEO Thierry Garnier. Chief people officer Kate Seljeflot believes leaders from this background have an advantage. “Being close to stores makes them more aware of market volatility, what consumers want and what competitors are doing. They can course correct at speed in a way that just isn’t as credible from HQ,” she says.

Those close to Garnier describe a grounded leadership style. “It’s authentic, accessible and brings higher-level credibility. Store teams recognise that Thierry knows what he’s talking about. He can move them forward, not just engage,” one colleague says. 

“Mike Logue took Dreams from basketcase to a profitable asset that was acquired for £340m. What is laudable is that he did it with largely the same team”

Card Factory chair Paul Moody thinks great leaders can come from any discipline but an operations background is a place to hone key qualities. He explains: “If I ask the board what makes our CEO, Darcy Willson-Rymer, so effective, it would be his ability to create a vision to empower and inspire those around. He gives people head space and coaches well. His style in-store is clear, never patronising. He is genuinely interested in making colleagues’ lives better.”

While ScS chair Alan Smith didn’t necessarily place too much weight on Steve Carson’s operations background when he appointed him as CEO, he now feels it is central to his success. He says: “People enjoy working with him and want to follow him. Colleagues feel they can express opinions freely that will be listened to. He has high emotional intelligence, a real warmth and an encouraging nature. I’ve seen a cultural shift. Our stores are a happy place to work”

Someone with an operations background who embodies humble, empowering leadership is Mike Logue, who took Dreams from basketcase to a profitable asset that was acquired for £340m two years ago. What is laudable is that he did it with largely the same team, which speaks volumes about his ability to inspire colleagues to raise their game.

An ops background might not always create a more inclusive leader but those who show humility, curiosity and genuine interest in others will succeed in engaging and mobilising colleagues to strive for success.