Billabong appoints new CFO

Billabong has started a new stage in its turnaround effort, and General Manager Neil Fiske has appointed a new CFO to help the group glide through it. This was the scenario described by Fiske, as the board sports group's GM announced the departure of former CFO Peter Myers, who was in charge since January 2013, and his replacement by James Howell.

"Peter Myers has played a pivotal role at Billabong during a tough, complex period, notably involving a major streamlining of our brand portfolio and of our operational facilities. Following this restructuring period, we are now more focused on improving the group's operational performance. Peter and myself have planned ahead for his succession. We think that a [personnel] change is the correct decision to take, in order to ensure that the next phase of Billabong's evolution may benefit from an increased operational supervision by the group's CFO."

The manager chosen to take on this challenge is a high-calibre financial director with a strong experience in the retail sector. In the last 10 years, James Howell developed his career as a senior finance executive for US department store group Nordstrom. Since 2014, he was Executive Vice-President of Finance and Treasurer for the group, and was notably involved in the deployment of the group's omni-channel strategy. Howell will face a similar challenge at Billabong, where he will start working on 12th June, based in the USA.

In May the group also announced the departure of Susan Branch, the General Manager of Billabong's womenswear, for which Shannan North remains as President.

Billabong appoints new CFO

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