Shop Direct taps Derek Harding as group finance director

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Feb 2, 2017

British e-tailer Shop Direct has poached Derek Harding from manufacturing group Senior for the role of group finance director.

Harding held the same post at Senior Group since September 2013. Prior to that, he spent over 10 years at Wolseley, where he held a variety of roles including head of strategic planning, director of financial reporting, director of group strategy & investor relations and most recently, finance director.

In the new role at Shop Direct, Harding will succeed Greg Pateras, who will be leaving the business in July to explore new opportunities.

Shop Direct chief executive Alex Baldock said Harding was selected for his experience developing and delivering growth strategies for technology-focused businesses.

With its digital department stores Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.com and VeryExclusive.co.uk, Shop Direct is the UK’s second largest pureplay digital retailer. Its annual sales reached nearly £1.9 billion in the last financial year and more than 1.2 million people visit the websites every day.