// Former Co-op Food boss Jo Whitfield has emerged as a frontrunner to take the Matalan CEO job
// Whitfield is going head to head with interim boss Nigel Oddy for the role
Former Co-op Food boss Jo Whitfield has emerged as the key contender to take over as CEO of Matalan.
Whitfield, who stood down from The Co-op last September after being overlooked for group CEO, is understood to be going head to head with the current interim Matalan boss, former New Look and House of Fraser CEO Nigel Oddy, for the permanent role, according to Sky News.
If Whitfield is successful it would mark a return to Matalan where she spent six years earlier in her career, working her way up from financial controller to head of finance.
Matalan’s lenders, Invesco, Man GLG, Napier Park and Tresidor, took over the value retailer last month in a debt-for-equity swap.
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The new owners are seeking a CEO to lead its turnaround after pumping £100m into the business.
The acquisition resulted in founder John Hargreaves losing control of the chain. He blasted the deal as piling the company with more debt.
The Hargreaves Family Private Office said: “John Hargreaves does not believe that the deal announcedwith th e first lien investors is an optimal outcome for Matalan and its key stakeholders.
“In particular, he is concerned that it fails to address the needs of the business to adequately deleverage its balance sheet and secure an appropriate long-term owner for the company, both of which were central to the Hargreaves family led bid.”
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