Pets at Home Group plc has announced that Lyssa McGowan will take over as group chief executive officer with effect from June 1, 2022.
Lyssa will succeed Peter Pritchard, who announced his intention to step down last November and who will remain with the business until May 31, 2022 to ensure a seamless transition. Lyssa will be appointed to the board as CEO designate on April 25 prior to her appointment as CEO on June 1..
Lyssa is the outgoing chief consumer officer at Sky UK Ltd. Over the last 11 years, she has led various business units to growth within Sky and has broad experience of managing product, service and subscription-led businesses, omnichannel development, and data and digital transformation.
Lyssa was also a non-executive director of the board of Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc until its recent sale to CD&R.
Ian Burke, chairman of Pets at Home, said: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Lyssa as CEO. Lyssa brings strong corporate, strategic and operational expertise across a range of consumer-facing businesses, and a proven track record of growth at Sky, with significant experience in customer and digital-first initiatives across multiple channels and sites.
“Following an extensive search process across internal and external candidates, the Board believes that Lyssa has the requisite skills and capabilities to lead Pets at Home as it executes its future growth strategy.”
Lyssa will receive a base salary of £580,000 which reflects the outgoing CEO’s salary of £550,000 with an increase of 5.5% applied in line with the average increase awarded to the wider workforce in October 2021. She will also benefit from a pension contribution of 6.5% of base salary plus an annual bonus up to a maximum of 170%, in line with the company’s policy and the outgoing CEO’s remuneration package.
She commented: “I am thrilled to be joining Pets at Home as CEO. It is a fantastic business with a unique, integrated business model, and a strong purpose-led culture fuelled by the shared passion of over 15,000 colleagues and partners to care for pets, and the people who love them.”
