Body Shop hires new CMO in double senior appointment

The Body Shop has drafted in new marketing and finance chiefs for its senior leadership team to help drive growth following its acquisition earlier this year.

The retailer, which grew from a single shop opened in 1976 by founder Anita Roddick in Brighton, into a global ethical beauty brand, has named Canada Goose exec Penny Brook as chief marketing officer and FMCG expert Sally Dowling as chief financial and operations officer.

The Body Shop said that Brook brings “a wealth of experience in brand transformation”.

She was most recently an advisor and board member at charity Polar Bears International, having left Canada Goose in Janaury after spending a decade in senior marketing jobs, where “she played a central role in shifting the brand from a cold-weather specialist to a globally recognised lifestyle label”.

Prior to that Brook was global head of marketing at Philips Consumer Lifestyle, and has also had spells in top marketing roles at Duo Boots, Clarks, and Mulberry.

Meanwhile, Dowling has focused on leading companies in FMCG, manufacturing and distribution, working across Europe and Asia. She was most recently CFO for GSF Car Parts.

Back in September, The Body Shop was rescued from administration by a consortium led by the British cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania, in a deal that saved 133 stores.

CEO Charles Denton, who joined from Molton Brown earlier this year, said: “The Body Shop has always thrived under the leadership of smart, courageous women, and that’s certainly what we have now with Penny and Sally, in two of the company’s most influential roles.

“Their appointment reflects our two priorities as a business going forward: Firstly, to delight customers around the world with trailblazing innovations and the highest standards of ethical beauty; and secondly, to bring the company back to fiscal health, building a sustainable company in the truest sense, which can last for decades to come.

“Both Penny and Sally are brimming with excitement and ideas over the opportunities we have in front of us, and I couldn’t be more confident we have the right people in place to seize those opportunities.”