The chair of Kingfisher, the parent company of Somerset-headquartered Screwfix, is stepping down after seven years in the role. Andrew Cosslett has decided not to stand for re-election and will leave the position at the company's annual general meeting on June 20.
He will be succeeded by Claudia Arney, who has served as an independent non-executive director of Kingfisher since November 2018 and currently also chairs the board's remuneration committee.
Catherine Bradley, senior independent director, said: "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Andy for his outstanding leadership and extensive contributions. He has overseen an important period of change for the company, including the launch of the 'Powered by Kingfisher' strategy, laying the foundation for the company's future success. We wish him the very best for the future.
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"I would also like to congratulate Claudia on her appointment as chair of the board."
Mr Cosslett said it had been a "privilege" to to hold the role for seven years and he was leaving the firm with "great confidence" in its future.
"I am proud to have been able to play my part and am delighted to now pass the baton onto Claudia whose skills and judgement will be key in ensuring the good progress continues." he said.
Ms Arney will be succeeded by Rakhi Goss-Custard, who has been a non-executive director of Kingfisher since February 2016, including as a member of the remuneration committee since March 2018.
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Ms Arney added: "I look forward to continuing to support our great management team in our mission of making home improvement accessible to everyone."
Kingfisher is an international home improvement company with more than 2,000 stores and a team of over 78,000 staff. The firm operates in eight countries across Europe under retail banners including B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt, Screwfix, TradePoint and Koçtaş.