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Summary
- Pejman Okhovat from New Zealand is set to spearhead the leadership team at Big W chains in Australia.
- The new managing director is expected to lead the journey onto new heights of success with his extensive knowledge and experience.
- Current managing director David Walker is set to take up new critical role of Chief Risk Officer.
High Street retail chain the Woolworths Group Limited (ASX:WOW) has hired Pejman Okhovat as Managing Director to take the transformation journey ahead for BIG W with its leadership team. Pejman will report to Claire Peters, who has joined as Managing Director for B2B and Everyday Needs.
Pejman Okhovat has extensive experience in non-food retail businesses in New Zealand and the UK region. Pejman hails from New Zealand, where he worked with a general merchandise retailer, The Warehouse Group, since 2005 for about 15 years. After the restructuring of the group, he was promoted as the chief operating officer in February 2020 in New Zealand. With The Warehouse Group, Pejman has also handled the retail business and stationery brands. The Warehouse Group had announced this month that Pejman was quitting but they did not disclose his next move.
Management Re-Shuffling
Pejman Okhovat, who has replaced David Walker, is set to drive the BIG W chains from early next year. David Walker has played a vital role in laying the foundations to revival of BIG W. He has been offered a new role of the Chief Risk Officer.
Meanwhile, Teresa Rendo, the current General Manager for Commercial at Big W, who has been instrumental in the retail giants' journey, will take up a new role as Acting Managing Director of Big W.
Good Read: Record Supermarket Sales Give Woolworths Confidence to Walk Out of $4 billion
Risk Management the Main Priority
Woolworths Group CEO, Brad Banducci, while commenting on the reshuffle in the management team said that a lot of factors are influencing the way they work, and it is changing the role in communities they operate.
The ever-evolving scenario has paved an exciting path for newer opportunities for the company, but it has also increased the substantial importance of providing sound risk management.
To act on the critical requirement, the company has conceptualised a new role of Chief Risk Officer, which will be effectively managed by David Walker in alignment with the Woolworths Group senior leadership team.
In his new journey, David will focus on critical Line Two risk and compliance functions within its Three Lines of the accountability framework. The work profile includes managing the primary responsibility in developing and implementing the Group's risk and compliance strategy. David's leadership at Woolworths Group will also oversee the development of risk management frameworks. The risk management across the Group will be administered under David's guidance.
Heaping praise on Walker, Banducci said that he was pleased to see David stepping into this new role as he possessed the calibre and potential to lead the company ahead effectively. David and his leadership team have led BIG W on the path of success, and they built a robust purpose-led culture in the company. David has a customer first-team first ideology.
At the same time, his extensive knowledge and experience in leading the company's various businesses and operations will be instrumental in his new tenure. David also has a strong background in finance and audit functions which provides him with the ideal skill-set required for the critical new role.
Related: ASX 200 Supermarket Giant Woolworths Overhauls Top Management Team
