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John Dixon appointed CEO of David Jones

1 Oct 2015

Woolworths Holdings has announced the appointment of John Dixon as CEO of David Jones. He replaces Iain Nairn, who resigned for personal reasons. Nairn, who has led the business for the last 14 months, has agreed to stay on for a period of three months to work with the business in an advisory capacity to ensure a seamless handover.

John Dixon

John Dixon commences in his role in January 2016 and Ian Moir, WHL Group CEO, will work with the executive committee of David Jones until this time.

Commenting on the announcement, Ian Moir said: "Over the past three years Iain has made a significant contribution to our Australian businesses, initially as CEO of the Country Road Group and, more recently, as CEO of David Jones. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Iain for his leadership during this time, particularly in stewarding David Jones during the last 14 months."

Dixon joins David Jones from UK and international retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S), where he started his career in 1986. He joined the board of M&S in 2009 as Director of Foods and led the turnaround of the GBP5 billion food business before his appointment as Director of General Merchandise (Clothing & Home). Under Dion's management the division returned to growth in 2015 and saw significant margin improvement.

Long-term strategy

"John's appointment reflects our long-term strategy to take the David Jones business to the next level. John is a world-class retailer who brings with him a powerful combination of international food and fashion expertise supported by large-scale retail systems and management experience. We have known John for many years through our close relationship with M&S and know him to be an inspiring and resilient leader who has traded successfully through the most difficult and competitive of conditions in the UK," said Moir.

Commenting on his appointment, John Dixon said: "I'm very excited to be taking on this role as CEO of David Jones. It's a substantial business in its own right and lies at the heart of Australian society. It's a privilege to take on such a role and I am hugely excited by the future possibilities for growth and continuing to be the pre-eminent department store business. I'm thoroughly looking forward to the challenge and my family and I are looking forward to living in Sydney. It's a perfect fit for me."