Revolution Beauty CEO and chair to step down following Boohoo agreement
Revolution Beauty’s chief executive officer and chair are set to resign following a settlement agreement with majority shareholder Boohoo.
Bob Holt and Derek Zissman will step away from the board, although the former will remain in his role as interim CEO until 31 August 2023.
Alistair McGeorge, Neil Catto, Rachel Horsefield and Peter Hallett will now join the board. Elizabeth Lake will remain as chief financial officer as the company looks to return to “sound financial health.”
The news appears to draw a close to an ongoing war of words between the two companies, which begun in June when Boohoo declared its intention to vote out Holt, Zissman, and Lake. Revolution described the move as a “cynical” attempt to seize control of the cosmetics brand.
They were then voted out at an eventful annual general meeting by 74% of Revolution’s shareholders, before being almost immediately reappointed by independent director Jeremy Schwartz. Boohoo said Schwartz’s actions “contravened corporate governance” practice and described them as an “abuse of process.”
Boohoo upped its stake in Revolution to over 26% in November of last year as the London-listed cosmetics retailer dealt with an accounts probe which saw its shares suspended. A subsequent investigation found a number of wrongdoings by former members of Revolution’s upper management. Revolution’s shares have since been re-listed.
The latest agreement will look to bring to an end the recent uncertainty regarding Revolution’s future, avoid the ongoing costs and disruption that would be associated with any alternative courses of action, and allow Revolution to get back to focusing on its core business objectives, the retailer said.
The retailer added: “This is particularly important for Revolution Beauty in light of the significant disruption that the group has faced in the past year, including the suspension from trading of the company’s shares and an independent investigation”.