Qurate Retail names next president and CEO

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jul 13, 2021

Qurate Retail, Inc., the Englewood, Colorado-based parent company of retail platforms including QVC and HSN, announced on Tuesday that David Rawlinson II will be joining the group as president and CEO on October 1, 2021.
 

In his new role, Rawlinson will be expected to use his expertise in e-commerce and customer trends to oversee the multi-platform retail group’s initiatives as it seeks to adapt to changing consumer behavior. He succeeds Mike George, who has held the role since 2018, having previously served as president and CEO of QVC for over 12 years.
 
In order to ease the hand-over, there will be a two-month transition period starting August 1, during which George will remain in his current role and Rawlinson will serve as president and CEO-elect. From October 1 until his retirement at the end of the year, George will continue to assist with transitional matters as a senior advisor to the company.

Rawlinson brings more than two decades of experience in a wide range of roles to his new position. Having spent over seven years at Fortune 500 industrial supply company Grainger from 2012 to 2020, he most recently served as CEO at consumer data firm NielsenIQ.
 
At Grainger, he rose to the role of president of Grainger Global Online, the fastest growing of the group’s stand-alone divisions. Under his leadership, the business grew double digits every year and won a number of national awards for workplace culture.
 
The executive currently serves on the boards of Discover Financial Services and NielsenIQ, and is a former board member of Nielsen Holdings and Japanese e-commerce and industrial retail firm MonotaRO Co. Ltd..
 
Rawlinson’s previous experience also includes executive roles at ITT Exelis, formerly ITT Corp., and time spent as a White House fellow. He held a range of appointed roles in both the Bush and the Obama administrations, serving as senior advisor for economic policy with the White House National Economic Council during the latter.
 
The executive holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a JD from the University of South Caroline School of Law, and a BA from The Citadel.
 
“We are pleased to welcome David Rawlinson to the Qurate family,” said Qurate Retail’s executive chairman, Greg Maffei, in a release. “David brings an impressive track record of success, most recently with two storied brands, Nielsen and Grainger. At these companies, David was a transformational leader and successfully managed the businesses through evolutionary transitions. His knowledge of global e-commerce, understanding of consumer trends and focus on mission and culture as a purpose-driven leader make him a natural fit for Qurate Retail.”
 
Qurate reaches some 218 million homes worldwide through its 14 television shopping networks and also operates multiple streaming services, social pages, mobile apps, websites, print catalogs and in-store experiences.
 
The company’s total revenues increased 5% year over year to $14.2 billion in 2020, while its net income came to $1.2 billion.