Yahoo Finance One of the only female CEOs in the FTSE 100 is leaving
Veronique Laury has been at the DIY giant, Kingfisher, for nearly 30 years and is only one of a small handful of female CEOs in the FTSE 100.
However, she is stepping down as leader of the £5.15bn ($6.8bn) group, which owns the UK’s B&Q and Screwfix and French chain Castorama.
“I have enjoyed leading the ONE Kingfisher team through the transformation to become the leading home improvement company,” said Laury in a statement.
“Leading the transformation has been so exciting but also very challenging. As the transformation approaches its final year, I believe it is right for someone else to lead the next phase of the ONE Kingfisher journey. I will continue to give 100% until the day I depart.”
While no departure date has been set, Laury has been tipped to be ousted for a number of months for failing to turned the company’s fortunes around. Back in January, rumours swirled that Laury was facing the chop. Other analysts called outright for Laury to be sacked.
Today, Kingfisher revealed that pre-tax profit fell 53% to £322m and it would be closing all 19 of the company’s Screwfix outlets in Germany as well as 15 “poor performing” stores over the next two years elsewhere.
