Victoria PLC, the international designer, manufacturer and distributor of innovative flooring, has announced the appointment of Steve Callaghan to the Board as a Non-Executive Director and the Senior Independent Director, of the group, together with the resignation of Andrew Harrison, who has been a director since 2012.
“Steve Callaghan is a highly effective business leader with a 25-year career as a growth-oriented and turnaround CEO. He has consistently demonstrated growth and transformation success in role as Chairman, as SID/NED, in addition to operational roles as CEO,” the group said.
He is currently Non-Executive Chairman of private equity owned Marston Holdings Limited having been first appointed in 2021 following some Covid-related challenges. Steve led a series of improvement initiatives on both cost and revenue, and Marston maintained the confidence of the company’s lenders throughout. Following nine months as Executive Chairman, a new CEO/CFO combination was established with a new leadership team, some promoted from within to continue the recovery.
In the public domain he has previously served as CEO of Ceres Power Holdings Plc, CPP Plc and Card Clear Plc. At Ceres he was initially appointed as turnaround CEO, followed by undertaking the role of SID, with the market capitalisation growing from £3 million to over £2 billion in less than four years.
Steve Callaghan holds a BSc (Eng) Hons in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Cranfield University and is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He is an FCA approved person.
Geoff Wilding, Executive Chairman of Victoria PLC, said: “Firstly, I would like to thank Andrew for his contribution and support over the last 13 years. His advice and encouragement have been invaluable.
“I am delighted to welcome Steve to the Board of Victoria. He is a highly experienced business leader who has successfully transformed a number of companies in his career with his relentless focus on execution. I am confident his practical operational experience will help accelerate Victoria’s recovery.”
Mr Callaghan commented: “Victoria is a business with exciting prospects and well-positioned to perform strongly as markets recover. Victoria’s brands have an excellent reputation in the market for quality and service, and the team have delivered a resilient performance to date with strict cost discipline and internal initiatives to improve earnings. I look forward to adding my experience and skill set to the Board, working with Geoff and the team at Victoria to deliver significantly increased EBITDA margins over time, and create value for all stakeholders.”
