Phones4U poaches John Lewis commercial director

Phones4U

Phones4U, the mobile phone retailer, has poached Brendan Sweeney from John Lewis to be group commercial director.

Sweeney will slot in alongside group marketing director Jim Slater, with both men reporting to Phones4U chief executive Tim Whiting.

At John Lewis, Sweeney was commercial director with a seat on the board. He has been replaced at the retailer by Phil Hullah, who was managing director of John Lewis Direct He too has been given a seat on the board.

John Lewis’ marketing department, headed by marketing director Andrew Woodward, will report into Hullah. Barry Matheson, managing director of John Lewis’ Glasgow and Aberdeen operations, will take over Hullah’s former responsibilities.

In August, Phones4U parent company Caudwell Group was bought for 1.46bn by private equity firm Doughty Hanson. Doughty kept Caudwell’s distribution arm and sold the retail chain to Providence Equity Partners, which plans to expand the brand online.