The Very Group, operator of digital retailer Very.co.uk, has made a pair of executive appointments.
Charlotte Heiss will join the Liverpool-headquartered firm as group general counsel and company secretary in May.
Meanwhile, operations director Sean Hallows will be promoted to the role of chief operating officer. He succeeds Phil Hackney, who will step down in April after six years in the role.
Most recently, Heiss (below) spent 11 years at RSA Group, latterly as group general counsel, company secretary and a member of the group executive committee.
She was responsible for a 40-strong global legal and company secretariat team at the former FTSE100 insurer, co-leading the RSA team responsible for the company’s acquisition by Intact and Tryg and leading the group’s response to key legal matters, regulatory change and Brexit.
Prior to RSA, Charlotte spent eight years at Linklaters LLP specialising in mergers and acquisitions. At The Very Group, Charlotte will oversee corporate governance, as well as all legal, risk and compliance issues.
Hallows has spent six years at The Very Group, during which time he has led all outbound logistics and returns, as well as the planning, development and launch of the company’s highly automated fulfilment centre, Skygate, alongside Hackney.
Since it opened in March 2020, the site has reduced the time it takes from product order to despatch to 17 minutes – down from four hours at the company’s old fulfilment sites – and increased next-day delivery order cut-off time from 6pm to 10pm.
More recently, Hallows headed the transfer of all fashion returns activity to Skygate. Prior to joining The Very Group, Sean was chief operating officer at Clipper Logistics plc.
“Attracting someone of Charlotte’s calibre to the role of general counsel is testament to the strength of our business and an important step in our continued development,” said Henry Birch, group CEO.
“She will play a vital role in reinforcing good governance and leading our business’ response on legal, regulatory and compliance matters.
“Sean is a hugely respected leader within our business and brings industry-leading experience, having launched and operated Skygate, one of the UK’s most advanced fulfilment centres.
“He has worked closely with Phil and is absolutely the right person to become our new chief operating officer as we continue to invest in the transformation of fulfilment, logistics and customer care.
“I want to say a massive thank you to Phil, who is responsible for some of the most successful and important developments in our business over the last decade. He is a dedicated, talented and universally respected leader, who leaves an exceptional legacy at The Very Group. We wish him all the very best.”