Jo Whitfield
Joanne Louise Whitfield CBE (born 21 December 1968[1]) is the Chief Executive of Co-op Food.[2]
Early life[]
She was born in St Helens, then in Lancashire.
She took A-levels (including English Literature and Politics) at Widnes & Runcorn Sixth Form College (now Riverside College, Halton). She attended Aston University from 1987 to 1991, studying Management.
Career[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/NOMA_Manchester_CGI_overview.jpg/220px-NOMA_Manchester_CGI_overview.jpg)
Northern Foods[]
She worked for Northern Foods from 1995 to 2000.
Matalan[]
She worked for Matalan from 2002 to 2008.
Asda[]
She joined Asda in July 2008.
Co-op[]
She joined the Co-op in April 2016 as Finance Director for Co-op Food and Retail. She became Chief Executive of Co-op Food in March 2017, making her the first female CEO of a British food retailer.[3][4] In 2019, she received the Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year award for her work on improving the stores' sales and sustainable practices.[5]
Whitfield was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to retail and the food supply chain during the COVID-19 response.[6]
Personal life[]
She lives in Trafford borough, in Altrincham. She married in April 2003 in Manchester.
References[]
- ^ "Joanne Louise WHITFIELD - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ Harvey, Rebecca (21 July 2017). "New CEO for Co-op Food – and other changes at the top of the Group". The Coop News. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ "Girls Out Loud - Ambassadors". girlsoutloud.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ Nazir, Sahar (2019-05-24). "Co-op CEO Jo Whitfield wins Business Woman Award". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Begum, Shelina (2019-05-24). "Co-op Food chief named Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year". men. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N9.
External links[]
- Jo Whitfield profile at Co-Op
- Jo Whitfield profile at Bloomberg.com
- 1968 births
- Alumni of Aston University
- British retail chief executives
- British women chief executives
- English businesspeople in retailing
- People from Altrincham
- People from Prescot
- The Co-operative Group
- Living people
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire