Stephen Dilks appointed Sosandar finance director

(Sharecast News) - Online fashion retailer Sosandar announced the appointment of Stephen Dilks as its new finance director on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said Dilks would take over from James Bowling, the current head of finance, who had decided to step down to pursue other opportunities.

Having spent the last 11 years with outdoor apparel company Regatta, including the last five as its finance director, Sosandar said Dilks had supported that firm's consistent double-digit growth across multiple brands, countries and channels including wholesale, own retail, concessions and online.

He had been the finance lead for several key strategic projects, including the group's Brexit planning and the implementation of group-wide new IT systems.

Prior to Regatta, Dilks held a number of roles in retail and fast-moving consumer goods, including Kraft Foods and the Co-Operative Group.

The directors said it expected Dilks would be appointed to the board once he had settled into his new role, subject to the satisfactory completion of the necessary regulatory requirements.

He would join Sosandar on 7 September, wth Bowling remaining in his role until 18 September to ensure an orderly handover.

"James has been an integral part of Sosandar's journey so far, both in the early days, through our listing and our tremendous growth and development since," said joint chief executive officers Ali Hall and Julie Lavington in a statement.

"We are incredibly grateful for all the hard work he put into the business and take this opportunity to wish him well in his future endeavours."

Hall and Lavington said they were "very pleased" for Dilks to be joining the company, explaining that his "extensive knowledge" of finance and operations in a "growing" retail brand would be invaluable.

"Notwithstanding the current environment, the opportunity for Sosandar is significant.

"With his experience across brands and markets, Stephen is well placed to work alongside us to deliver continued growth and shareholder value going forward."

At 1228 BST, shares in Sosandar were up 0.49% at 10.3p.