Charles Wells appoints new chief executive

The company said that after 17 years as chief executive, and latterly chairman, Paul Wells’ role is to be split. He will remain as chairman for Charles Wells Ltd with a focus on new initiatives.

Phillimore, currently the managing director of the brewing and brands division will become chief executive at the end of September.

Peter Wells, currently managing director of Charles Wells UK pubs, will become the commercial director of Charles Wells, with responsibility for all sales and marketing across brewing and retail.

Leadership​

Announcing the changes Paul Wells said: “I’ve had the pleasure of working with a tremendous group of people at Charles Wells and seen them work together to build the business we have today. I am delighted to be able to hand over the chief executive role to Justin Phillimore to drive the next chapter of development of Charles Wells. As chairman I will remain closely involved but also focus on new initiatives for our family companies.”

He added: “Peter has extensive experience in our pubs business and the role of commercial director enables him to bring his retail insights to a wider audience. He will provide the leadership that will help our marketing and sales support be as effective as possible for all our customers. Peter will be one of three members of the Wells family still involved in the business on a daily basis.”

'Excited'​

Phillimore said: “Paul has contributed so much to our business and, indeed, the industry and I have valued his wise counsel and pragmatic approach and will continue to draw on this in his role as chairman. I’m excited about taking the chief executive role for our combined business operations and looking forward to working with the outstanding teams we have here.

"We have a well-developed strategy which includes driving our managed house operations in the UK and France, working with our partners to continue development of our excellent beer portfolio and providing a commitment to the highest quality service for our customers.”

Other members of the board remain unchanged; Anthony Fryer (Finance Director), Andrea Holton (France & HR Director), Tony Mair, Paul Rawlinson and Bob Ivell (Non-Executive Directors)