Fashion and home furnishings retailer NEXT has announced that appointment of its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

After 28 years of service, Amanda James, NEXT’s current Chief Financial Officer, has decided to retire from full time work, and will step down from the Board with effect from 26 July 2024. 

Amanda, who has been planning this change for some time and it coincides with her husband’s retirement, is planning to leave the Group on 26 September 2024 following.

NEXT has also announced that Amanda’s successor will be Jonathan Blanchard, currently CFO at Reiss. Jonathan will join NEXT in February 2024 and take over as CFO in July 2024 and also join the Board of Next plc at that time.

Commenting on the board update, NEXT said: “Amanda has made a huge contribution to the Group in her 28 years with NEXT and has been an exceptional guardian of our finances. Our financial position today is testament to her diligence and hard work.  The Board is extremely grateful to Amanda for her excellent service to the Group.

“Jonathan is currently the CFO and Chief Operating Officer of the Reiss Group, having joined the Company as a Board Director in 2017. Jonathan qualified as a Certified Chartered Accountant in 1994 and has over thirty years of experience in finance. The last 25 years of his career have been at Board level in private equity backed businesses, all of which were in the retail/consumer sectors. 

“Jonathan has a wealth of experience implementing rigorous financial and capital controls; he has also managed several successful private equity transactions.  Jonathan played a critical role at Reiss, not least negotiating and implementing the transition to Total Platform. We have worked closely with Jonathan for over three years and believe that his skills are well suited to NEXT’s financial disciplines and its culture.”