New Kingfisher CEO takes number of women FTSE 100 CEOs up to five
Veronique Laury is currently the head of Kingfisher's French division Castorama.
Kingfisher, Europe's largest home improvements retailer and owner of B&Q, said Veronique Laury will take over from Ian Cheshire, its chief executive for nearly seven years, before next January.
Laury will become the fifth female CEO in the FTSE 100, joining easyJet's Carolyn McCall, Royal Mail's Moya Green, Alison Cooper at Imperial Tobacco and Severn Trent's Liv Garfield.
The announcement came as Kingfisher reported a drop in first-half profits, as a boost from good weather in the first quarter was offset by a tougher second quarter. Pre-tax profits for the six months to 2 August were £375m compared with £401m for the same period last year.