 Paul Zahra has left the top job at David Jones, after the takeover of the retailer by South African-owned Woolworths came into effect, this month.
The departure of Mr Zahra was announced today by Woolworths as part of a leadership reshuffle, and is effective immediately.
Ian Nairn, CEO of Country Road will take over Zahra’s role as Chief of one of Australia’s oldest department stores now in the hands of the South Africans, who also own brands Country Road and Witchery.
The $2.2 billion David Jones takeover was approved last month by an overwhelming majority of its shareholders, despite some initial concerns from regulators.
Matt Keogh, CEO of Witchery will take over Nairn’s job as boss of Country Road as part of Woolworths management reshuffle.
Woolworths shares rose 1.52% today on the JSE.
Last year, Zahra resigned as CEO of David Jones “for personal reasons” but later decided to stay on.
He was appointed in June 2010, taking over from his scandal ridden predecessor, Mark McInnes, and oversaw key changes including execution of DJ’s omni-channel strategy and the launch of the retailer’s e-commerce website.
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