TIMBER specialist Donaldson Group has appointed Graham Johnston to the newly created role of CEO of its retail and distribution division.
He joins from ASDA where he was senior director of omnichannel customer support. He also spent a decade at Hutchison 3G UK (Three), where he was most recently head of omnichannel.
Donaldson Group said that, following a period of growth and expansion, the role forms part of a new structure for the group and the creation of three new divisions: offsite, interiors, and retail and distribution.
Graham will be responsible for leading the retail and distribution division, including timber merchant MGM Timber; distributor of insulation and drylining products, James Donaldson Insulation; Nu-Style Products, which manufactures Perform Panel, and Plane & Simple, an online DIY marketplace.
He will work alongside the CEOs of the offsite and interiors divisions and will collaborate across key areas of the business, with a major focus on innovation. Donaldson added that the vision is to leverage the individual online and offline businesses to ‘harmonise’ them and create a ‘seamless customer experience’.
Andrew Donaldson, CEO of Donaldson Group, said, “Retail behaviours have been evolving across all industries, with a move toward online purchasing being expedited by the Covid-19 pandemic. As our group portfolio continues to grow, we aim to ensure that our offering grows with our business and with our customers.
“Graham’s excellent experience optimising multiple customer channels for globally-recognised brands is an enormous asset to the Donaldson Group, and we are looking forward to his expertise and insight as we develop our own retail and distribution channels.”
Graham Johnston added, “Bringing together the physical and digital retail businesses is a refreshing and forward-thinking move by the Donaldson Group, and I’m delighted to be joining this newly formed division as CEO. Joining a business that has such a rich history of innovation and growth over the past 162 years is a real honour and I’m looking forward to working with our talented teams across the group to carry on that spirit of innovation and shape the next chapter for the retail and distribution business.”
