Next chairman to quit this year, Michael Roney is replacement

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 14, 2017

Next said Tuesday that non-executive chairman John Barton is to retire from his post on August 1 and will be succeeded by Michael Roney who has joined the firm this week to prepare for the role.

Seventy two-year-old Barton joined the board in 2002 and was named deputy chairman in 2004, becoming chairman two years later.

Roney, 62, has for now been named as an independent non-executive director and deputy chairman, as well as chairman designate.

Roney has extensive business experience having been CEO of Bunzl plc, a FTSE 100 listed distribution and outsourcing business, from 2005 until his retirement last spring. He is currently chairman of Grafton Group and a non-executive director of Brown-Forman Corporation.

The change comes at a crucial time for Next as the company was one of the weaker performers late last year and said this year could be tough too. It faces having to raise prices as a response to higher costs caused by the pound’s slide and is also seeing the lead its buoyant Next Directory online operation gave it being eroded by intense competition.