The Co-op has officially announced Shirine Khoury-Haq as its new group CEO on a permanent basis.
Khoury-Haq previously held the role on an interim basis and was the first woman to do so after taking over from Steve Murrells earlier this year, who had been in the CEO role for 10 years.
She first joined the group in the summer of 2019 as its new chief financial officer and has previously been COO at Lloyd’s of London for five years and also held senior roles at Catlin and IBM earlier in her career.
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“I’m delighted that Shirine has accepted the invitation to lead and develop our Co-op into the future, tackling the challenges presented by the highly uncertain and volatile external environment,” Co-op chair Allan Leighton said.
“Shirine has proven leadership qualities and a deep level of transformational experience, and the Board has been impressed by her desire to prioritise on activity that will deliver a strong financial Co-op for our members, whilst maintaining a focus on our vision and wider social commitments.”
Khoury-Haq added: “I am proud and honoured to lead this wonderful and unique organisation.
“The Co-op is the original business with purpose and I am looking forward to delivering even more on this promise, working to co-operate for a fairer world.”
She concluded: “There is a lot to do but we also have so much to build upon.
“Our food and life services businesses are leaders in their markets, we have a differentiated vision and amazing Co-op colleagues, with links into communities and other co-operatives. Together, we will continue to succeed and deliver for the benefit of our members, our customers and their communities.”
