Woolies employs Walker to boost its risk management

Woolworths has created a new role within the retail giant to reflect the increasing importance of risk governance and management across the group.

David Walker, currently managing director of Woolworths general merchandise chain, Big W, had been appointed to the new role.

Woolworths has created a new role within the retail giant to reflect the increasing importance of risk governance and management across the group.

Woolworths said the role of chief risk officer had been created, reporting to chief executive Brad Banducci.

David Walker, currently managing director of Woolworths general merchandise chain, Big W, had been appointed to this role. He will have leadership of Woolworths’ critical risk and compliance functions within its accountability framework, the company said.

This includes primary responsibility for Woolworths’ risk and compliance strategy, the evolution of risk-management frameworks and oversight of risk across the group.

Mr Banducci said: “There are an ever increasing number of influences changing the way that we work and the role that we play in the communities in which we operate. While this creates many new exciting opportunities for us, it also increases the importance of good risk management.

“To best reflect these needs, we have created a new chief risk officer role within the Woolworths Group senior leadership team.”

Mr Banducci said that, for the past four years, Mr Walker and his leadership team had led the successful turnaround of Big W by building a strong purpose-led culture that had culminated in the business’s return to profitability this year.

“David’s ‘customer-first, team-first’ mindset, his knowledge and experience leading our various businesses and operations and his background in finance and audit give him the ideal skills to step into this important new role for the group,” he said.

To replace him, Pejman Okhovat will join Woolworths as the new boss of Big W.

Mr Okhovat joins from New Zealand, where he was chief operating officer, The Warehouse Group with an extensive background in non-food retail in New Zealand and the UK. He will join Big W in the current financial year’s fourth quarter and report to Claire Peters in her new group role as managing director, B2B and Everyday Needs.

Teresa Rendo, general manager of commercial at Big W and has played a role in Big W’s turnaround, will step in as acting managing director of Big W.