Ted Baker names permanent CFO

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 18, 2020

Ted Baker has confirmed David Wolffe as permanent chief financial officer with immediate effect. He has been with the company on an interim basis since January, when he was brought in to oversee the finance function following Rachel Osborne’s transition into the CEO role.

The premium clothing brand said Wolffe, who has over 20 years of experience in financial roles for both public and private businesses, will now join the board. 

It has been a rollercoaster few months for Wolffe since he joined the fashion company. In addition to the financial troubles Ted Baker had before coronavirus, including a £58m inventory blunder and a plummeting share price, the CFO has had to face declining sales since the lockdown.

But he has a wealth of experience addressing a range of retail and financial challenges, having held several senior financial and executive positions at global consumer and media businesses. These include group CFO at HMV, finance director of ITV Studios, CFO at AOL Europe and finance director at BBC Magazines and Consumer Publishing.

Ted Baker said Wolffe has been “instrumental” in a number of its financial initiatives, including the sale and leaseback of its ‘Ugly Brown Building’ headquarters in London.

Commenting on his appointment, Rachel Osborne, said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working closely alongside him since the start of the year and David has quickly gripped the issues inside the business and developed solutions to put things right. I look forward to his continued significant contribution to the leadership team, as we work together to return Ted Baker to profitable growth.”

David Wolffe, added: “I was extremely pleased about joining Ted Baker back in January, and my time with the business since then has revealed the huge opportunities that lie ahead for this iconic British brand.

"The business has faced into a number of challenges in the months since I joined, and while we still have much to do, our progress so far gives me confidence that we can deliver our transformation plan and create value for all of our stakeholders.”