EasyJet has raided Halfords for its new finance director, leaving the car products and bike retailer looking for a replacement numbers chief shortly before its chief executive leaves to join Tesco.
Andrew Findlay will join easyJet by the end of October. He has worked closely with the Halfords chief executive, Matt Davies, in reviving the FTSE 250 chain.
Davies is due to take over as Tesco’s UK boss next month. He will be replaced by Jill McDonald, the head of McDonald’s UK and northern Europe business, who was hired last month.
Findlay’s move to easyJet means he and Davies have both left to join FTSE 100 companies. His departure will leave Halfords in a state of flux while McDonald gets to grips with the business and the board looks for a new chief financial officer.
Findlay said: “I have greatly enjoyed my time with Halfords and I am exceptionally proud of the progress the business has made over the last few years. I am sad to be leaving, but the opportunity to join easyJet was too attractive to turn down.”
Halfords shares fell 2.6% to 458p in early trading on Monday.
Davies and Findlay had revived sales at Halfords by investing in staff training and customer service. Halfords’ website shows Findlay tinkering with a car engine and says he rides a Carrera TDF bike at weekends.
Carolyn McCall, easyJet’s chief executive, said: “Andrew is a proven FTSE 250 CFO with great consumer experience and a strong focus on cost. He is part of the leadership team at Halfords which has created a much more customer-centric and profitable business.”
