Eve Sleep promotes CMO Cheryl Calverley to CEO

Eve Sleep has promoted its CMO Cheryl Calverley to CEO as it looks forward to its “next phase of growth”.

The move comes after current CEO James Sturrock said he would be stepping down in mid-May to take on another external role. He will, however, remain on its board as a non-executive director.

Calverley joined Eve Sleep in early 2019 following a 15-year career in marketing at companies including Unilever and The AA. She was the first of the new management team appointed under Sturrock, who was himself brought into restructure the business.

Since joining, she has relaunched the brand as a ‘sleep wellness company’ and reset its marketing strategy to move away from a focus on product to talk more about its purpose. That includes the launch of its first major marketing campaign, which featured a dancing sloth and the endline ‘Rise. Shine’.

“When we advertise, people need to watch the advert and finish with a sense of optimism, happiness and positivity that comes with having slept well,” Calverley told Marketing Week at the time.

As CEO, she has been tasked with making Eve Sleep profitable. Its full year results in March show it was profitable at an operating level as the company reduced costs and cash burn.

“On behalf of the board I would like to thank James for his leadership through a difficult period for Eve,” says chairman Paul Pindar. “The business has been reset and the benefits of the rebuild strategy are increasingly evident.

“I have every confidence that Cheryl will lead Eve to profitability, securing our sustainable future as the go-to sleep wellness brand.”

Sturrock adds: “The new leadership team has been embedded and proven, the business and all of its processes has been overhauled and right sized and Eve is well advanced on the path to profitability.

“It is clear to me that I can fully support Eve in a non-executive capacity and that Cheryl, as an expert in building consumer brands, is well placed to take Eve forward.”