Woolworths Group has appointed Pejman Okhovat as managing director for Big W to continue the transformation journey together with the leadership team. Okhovat was formerly the chief operating officer for The Warehouse Group based in New Zealand and brings an extensive background in non-food retail both in New Zealand and in the UK.
Okhovat will join Big W in Q4 FY21 and report to Claire Peters in her new group role as managing director for B2B and everyday needs. In the interim, Big W general manager for commercial will step in as acting managing director.
The appointment comes as Woolworths Group fills the newly created role of chief risk officer with current Big W managing director, David Walker taking the position.
Walker will have leadership of Woolworths’ critical Line Two risk and compliance functions within its Three Lines of accountability framework. This includes primary responsibility for the group’s risk and compliance strategy, the evolution of risk management frameworks and oversight of risk across the group.
Woolworths Group CEO, Brad Banducci said there are an ever-increasing number of influences changing the way the group works and the role it plays in the community.
“Whilst this creates many new exciting and opportunities for us, it also increases the importance of good risk management. To best reflect these needs, we have created a new chief risk officer role within the Woolworths Group senior leadership team,” he said.
“For the last four years, David and his leadership team have led the successful turnaround of Big W by building a strong purpose-led culture that has culminated in the businesses’ return to profitability this year.”