Joanne Louise Whitfield (born 21 December 1968) is the Chief Executive of Matalan

Early life

She was born in St Helens, then in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. She took A-levels (including English Literature and Politics) at Widnes & Runcorn Sixth Form College (now

Riverside College, Halton Riverside College (formerly known as Halton College) is a further education college based over two sites in the Widnes, Cheshire, England. It was rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted following an inspection in 2020. The college was established from ...

). She attended

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...

from 1987 to 1991, studying Management.

Career

Northern Foods

She worked for Northern Foods from 1995 to 2000.

Matalan

She worked for Matalan from 2002 to 2008. She re-joined Matalan in March 2023 as Chief Executive Officer.

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. In 2019, she received the Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year award for her work on improving the stores' sales and sustainable practices. Whitfield was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to retail and the food supply chain during the COVID-19 response.

Personal life

She lives in

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

borough, in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

. She married in April 2003 in Manchester.

References

External links

Jo Whitfield profile
at Co-Op
Jo Whitfield profile
at Bloomberg.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Jo 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 Asda people