Steve Francis, who previously rescued a chain of cake shops, was brought in by SIG to run things in February on a temporary contract after the departure of former chief executive Meinie Oldersma.
This appointment has now been made permanent after a search process “concluded that Steve was the outstanding candidate for the role of CEO”.
Meinie Oldersma first took leave of absence from SIG on 18th December 2019 due to a family illness. He returned to work on 10th February but only to hand in his notice, departing on 25th February.
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Steve Francis, a McKinsey alumnus, led the management buyout of the failed Patisserie Valerie chain last year only to be rapidly ousted by the venture capitalists who had provided some of the money.
SIG, however, which turns over around £2.5bn a year, seems happy to have him. Chairman Andrew Allner said: "The board is pleased to announce that Steve Francis has been appointed permanent CEO. Steve has demonstrated strong leadership in the most testing circumstances since his original appointment. His ability to navigate the effects of the Covid-19 environment, at the same time as getting the leadership team focused on the strategic priorities to ensure the future success of SIG, has been exceptional."
Steve Francis said: "I am delighted to have been appointed to lead SIG. We are using the current period to develop a revised strategy and organisational model and I look forward to sharing the details of this revised strategy with the announcement of our results for the year ended 31st December 2019."
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