Ex-ASOS CFO becomes JD Sports non-exec director

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 16, 2021

JD Sports Fashion is boosting its board with the appointment of Helen Ashton as a non-executive director, with immediate effect.

Not only does Ashton have 30 years of experience of working in public and private equity-backed businesses, but she was formerly finance chief at fashion e-tail giant ASOS.

So she has “deep knowledge of high-growth, digital fashion in an International arena”.

She’s also held executive level roles at Asda, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group and CEO positions in high-growth private equity-backed businesses.

JD’s executive chairman Peter Cowgill hailed her “significant amount of retail, digital and financial experience”.

She has become Audit Committee Chair with the company also saying it’s “encouraged by the progress that has been made in strengthening the board with the appointment of new members with extensive skills, experience and expertise, for the benefit of all stakeholders”.

JD Sports is currently in a dynamic expansion phase with new store openings and plenty of international acquisitions. Despite being ordered by the competition authorities to sell the Footasylum chain that it bought, it has also acquired Cosmos Sport and Hairburst recently and has been rumoured to be in talks on a Missguided buy.