Abbey has appointed Jonathan Hart as Branch Distribution Director.
He joins the company on 1 March, and will be responsible for running the branch network. Jonathan will report to Mark Pain, Customer Sales Director.
Jonathan, 43, has extensive experience in consumer retailing. He joins Abbey from Woolworths plc. He has spent a significant portion of his career at the Dixons Group, latterly as Group Managing Director of the Dixons Stores Group. His achievements include:
- developing the idea for The Link stores, and driving expansion of the chain
- pioneering the concept of Dixons airport stores
- revitalising the Dixons store formats in the late 1990s
- opening the first Currys megastore.
Mark Pain, Customer Sales Director, said: "Jonathan has a great track record in retailing and a wealth of experience to bring to this role. Given the huge organisational transformation we are undertaking, he is the ideal person to lead the revitalisation of our branch network".
Jonathan Hart said: "Abbey is reversing the trend of previous years by recognising the importance of a strong branch network in its business success. The company has a real appetite for importing ideas from customer service organisations on the high street, and I am really looking forward to using my experience in retailing in the banking arena."