Co-op Group has confirmed that chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq will step down, following mounting pressure over workplace culture concerns and a difficult year marked by losses and a damaging cyberattack.
Khoury-Haq, who has led the organisation since 2022 and spent seven years with the business, will be replaced on an interim basis by Kate Allum while the board begins the search for a permanent successor.
Her departure comes after reports of a “toxic culture” within senior leadership, alongside claims of falling morale, high-profile departures and operational challenges across the group.
The Co-op revealed that it swung to an underlying pre-tax loss of £126 million in its latest financial year, compared with a £45 million profit the previous year. Revenues also declined by 2.3 per cent to £11 billion, reflecting disruption to trading and changing consumer behaviour.
The group said the results were heavily shaped by its response to a major cyberattack, which forced it to restrict systems in an effort to contain the threat. While necessary, the measures had a significant commercial impact.
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