Australia's Myer replaces CFO in management restructuring

Troubled Australian department store operator Myer Holdings Ltd said it was overhauling management, promoting its IT chief to a newly created position of chief operating officer and bringing in a CFO with experience in disrupted sectors.

The move follows a slump in sales and a profit warning in December as well as vocal criticism from its biggest shareholder, billionaire retail investor Solomon Lew.

Myer, like other retailers in Australia, must also contend with new formidable competition from Amazon.com Inc which started taking orders in the country last month.

The retailer named Mark Cripsey, who joined the company in 2015 as Chief Digital and Data Officer, as chief operating officer, a new position aimed at integrating its online and store businesses.

The company also said that Nigel Chadwick will replace current CFO Grant Devonport, and highlighted Chadwick’s work in troubled sectors.

“Nigel has spent the past twenty years in senior finance roles at Spotless, BHP and Telstra and will bring a wealth of experience to Myer including his time working in sectors facing disruption,” Myer CEO Richard Umbers said in a statement.

Shares of the company slid over 50 percent in the last year, and were down 1.5 percent in Thursday afternoon trade.