Business
Directorate Change
NEXT plc announced several board changes, including the retirement of Group Sales, Marketing and HR Director Jane Shields after 40 years of service, effective May 21, 2026. Matt Barnes will assume most of her operational responsibilities but will not join the board. Senior Independent Director Jonathan Bewes will also retire following the AGM on May 21, 2026. Annette Court and Jeni Mundy will join the board as independent non-executive directors on March 1 and April 1, 2026, respectively, with Court becoming Senior Independent Director and Soumen Das taking over as Audit Committee Chair from May 21, 2026. Disclaimer*
About this update from Next Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n \nNEXT plc (the \"Company\" or \"NEXT\")\n9 January 2026\n \nThe Company announces the following changes to its Board:\nEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD CHANGE\nJane Shields, Group Sales, Marketing and HR Director, is planning to retire from the Company in May of this year. Jane will step down from the Board with effect from 21 May 2026. Jane will retire after 40 years of outstanding service: Jane joined as sales assistant in 1985, was promoted to Sales Director in 1999, Group Sales & Marketing Director in 2010 and, in that capacity, was appointed to the Board in 2013.\nMatt Barnes will be promoted to the role of Group Sales and Marketing Director and will take on most of Jane's operational remit: E-Commerce, Brand Marketing, Retail Stores and Online Customer Services. Matt joined NEXT in 1999 and is currently Online Customer Service Director. Matt will not be joining the Board at this stage.\nNON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD CHANGES\nJonathan Bewes, Senior Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, will retire from the Board following the AGM on 21 May 2026 having served as a Board member for nine years.\nAnnette Court and Jeni Mundy will be appointed as independent non-executive directors with effect from 1 March 2026 and 1 April 2026 respectively. Both will become members of the Nomination, Audit and Remuneration committees.\nAnnette Court will be appointed as Senior Independent Director from 21 May 2026.\nSoumen Das to be appointed as Audit Committee Chair from 21 May 2026.\nBIOGRAPHIES OF NEW DIRECTORS\nAnnette Court\nAnnette is an experienced FTSE100 and FTSE250 chair and non-executive director. She has been chair of WH Smith plc since 2022 and Senior Independent Director of Sage Group plc since 2024, having joined the board in 2019. Annette was chair of Admiral Group plc until 2023. In her executive career, Annette was previously the CEO of Europe General Insurance for Zurich Financial Services from 2007 to 2010 and the CEO of Direct Line Group (formerly RBS Insurance) from 2001 to 2006.\nJeni Mundy\nJeni is a highly experienced technology executive who brings strong expertise in digital, innovation, IT and commercial acumen to the NEXT Board. She was non-executive director and chair of the corporate responsibility committee at Auto Trader...