British biking clothes model, Rapha, has at this time introduced the appointment of a brand new CEO, welcoming the present boss of Belstaff Clothing, Fran Millar, into the position.
Millar, who has additionally held the place of CEO at Ineos Grenadiers and had been with the staff since its 2009 inception as Team Sky, will start within the new position efficient September 23.
Rapha’s present CEO, Francois Convercey, has been with the corporate since 2015, beforehand holding the position of Chief Brand & Marketing Officer. He was sprung into the position of Joint Managing Director alongside Daniel Blumire in November 2022 after the sudden departure of William Kim, who stepped down after lower than a 12 months in cost.
When Blumire subsequently left in October 2023, Convercey stepped right into a sole CEO position as the pinnacle of the model. He is now stepping down from his position and Rapha confirms he will likely be leaving the enterprise.
Millar, in the meantime, who additionally occurs to be the sister of former skilled David Millar, started her profession by founding the athlete administration company FACE in 2000. Through the next eight years, she managed riders reminiscent of Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas, and created the Smithfield Nocturne sequence, a race which was later sponsored by Rapha.
In 2009, she was a part of the staff that created Team Sky, holding varied roles over the following decade, together with Director of Business Operations and Head of Winning Behaviours. In 2018, as Team Sky grew to become Team INEOS and subsequently INEOS Grenadiers, she moved into the position of CEO for a time.
In a coincidental parallel, each Belstaff Clothing and Rapha have been acquired by their respective mother or father corporations in 2017. Belstaff, the British clothes model with a give attention to motoring heritage, was acquired by Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group, whereas Rapha was taken over by RCZ Investments, run by Tom and Steuart Walton, the 2 billionaires extra famously referred to as the grandsons of Walmart founder, Sam Walton.
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In 2020, Ratcliffe appointed Millar as CEO of Belstaff and tasked her with creating a turnaround technique. This is reported to have led to improved monetary efficiency, model repositioning and cultural change.
Rapha has additionally loved its personal success, rising to turn into one of many greatest biking clothes manufacturers on the earth, regardless of struggling in more moderen years amid the post-pandemic downturn.
“Fran Millar’s profession is a testomony to her dedication to biking and her potential to drive transformative change,” Steuart Walton mentioned of the appointment, citing her “in depth background within the biking world” as motivation for the rent.
Millar, who leaves the INEOS Group simply days after efficiency engineer Dan Bigham left the staff because of frustration with the administration construction, described Rapha as “probably the most iconic manufacturers in sport,” saying it has “enormous potential for its subsequent part of development.”
“This position combines all the things I’m obsessed with and I’m honoured to steer Rapha into the thrilling subsequent chapter of its journey,” she concluded.
Rapha’s founder, Simon Mottram, described Millar’s appointment as “a big milestone for the model.”
“Fran has been a pal of Rapha since 2006 when she helped us set up and run the Nocturne sequence of races. She then launched us to Dave Brailsford and Team Sky, culminating in our profitable four-year partnership. Fran’s deep understanding of the biking business, mixed along with her confirmed observe report in main high-performance groups and types, positions her uniquely to information Rapha into its subsequent chapter.”