Executive and Integration leadership update for our new Society

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Published 16 Dec 2025 in Colleagues

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Please find below a communication from Debbie Robinson, who will take on the role of CEO of the new Society upon completion of the merger, which is scheduled for 26 January 2026.

Dear Colleague,

Following the recent announcement confirming the new Transitional Board, President, Vice Presidents and CEO roles, I am pleased to share that I have now confirmed the Executive structure for our new Society.

Alongside my appointment as CEO of the new Society, Phil Ponsonby will take on the role of CEO for Integration, leading the work to bring our two organisations together successfully.

Before sharing more detail, I want to reassure colleagues about the care and attention that has gone into planning the creation of our new Society. We have been strongly supported by colleagues across the business and have worked closely with PwC, our external consultants, to develop a robust business case and fully understand the scale of the integration.

This work has focused on creating a sustainable future for the Society by:

driving sales growth
improving profitability
maintaining tight cost control
and reducing debt

This approach is fully aligned with the business case approved by Members and will be delivered in a planned and considered way. As we move through the creation of the new Society, we must balance stability with strengthening the organisation. Where appropriate, this will include evaluating external talent and creating opportunities to bring in additional expertise to support the Society’s future success.

Executive and Integration structures

Today, I would like to share:

The focus of the Executive structure of the new Society; and
The Integration workstream structure required to deliver the synergy benefits

Together, these structures will support the creation of a new Society, with a planned transfer date of 26 January 2026.

Our new Executive team

Our new Executive team will be focused on delivering compelling customer propositions and creating a future operating model that drives sales, improves profitability, controls costs and reduce debt.

Meet your new Executive team:

Sara Dunham, Chief Officer - Specialist Businesses will lead our travel, funeral, early years and utilities partnerships.
Selina Butterfield-Mashoofi, Chief Finance, Technology & Property Officer will oversee finance, IT, property and procurement.
Michelle Cemm, Chief People Officer will lead people operations, reward & payroll and people development reporting directly to me with a dotted line into the integration programme.

The following roles are still to be confirmed to ensure the right long-term fit for our new Society:

Chief Officer – Food. Responsible for central operations, supply chain and commercial, retail operations and propositions, formats and refits. Following Sarah Dickins’ decision to leave, this role will be recruited externally. While the recruitment is underway and as we take time to confirm the right long-term fit for the new Society, both Sarah Dickins and Sarah Yates will report directly to me, ensuring clear accountability and continuity for colleagues across both Societies. The Food business is our largest operation, accounting for over 83% of sales in the new Society and employing the majority of our colleagues. Given its scale and importance, it is essential that we take the time to confirm the right long-term leadership structure. In the interim, strong day-to-day leadership across the Food business will remain in place.

Chief Membership & Marketing Officer. Responsible for membership, brand & marketing and communications. Following a full assessment, we have decided to take this opportunity to go to market externally to bring in additional expertise and fresh perspective. This will complement the strong capability already within the business and help strengthen the Executive team for the future.

Colleagues leaving

Before introducing the Integration team, I want to acknowledge that two colleagues will be leaving the business. This is always difficult news and I would like to personally thank them both for their significant contributions and wish them every success for the future.

Sarah Dickins – Central Co-op Chief Operating Officer, Food, Marketing & Brand

After four years with the Society, Sarah has decided to leave to focus on the next chapter of her career. She is looking forward to spending more time with her family, pursuing personal interests, including finally learning to play golf, and building a portfolio advisory and consultancy career. This is a personal decision, and while I am deeply sorry to see Sarah leave, I fully respect her choice.

Sarah is an exceptional leader who has made an enormous contribution to our Society. She leaves a lasting legacy through her work on our Difference Maker culture, step-changing career development programmes and transforming reward for colleagues. She has also led the turnaround in Membership, creating a thriving, market-leading proposition that our Members genuinely value.

Over the past 16 months, Sarah has led our Food business through what has been a particularly challenging period, always with care, clarity and a strong sense of purpose. Her strategic and people-centred leadership has ensured that colleagues, Members and customers have remained at the heart of everything we do.

Sarah leaves behind a clear strategy and a much stronger Food business, well positioned for the next chapter. I know you will join me in thanking Sarah for everything she has delivered and in wishing her every success in what comes next.

Peter Kelly – Midcounties Co-operative Chief Finance Officer

Peter will leave the Society at the end of May. He has been a key member of the Midcounties Executive for the past five years and has played an integral role in developing the five-year business plan that supported both Societies’ Boards and Members in approving the coming together of our organisations to create a new Society.

Peter will continue to provide his expertise by supporting the early stages of integration, while also completing the year-end audit and accounts for Midcounties Cooperative. We are extremely grateful for his continued commitment and for the significant contribution he has made in bringing us to this point.

I am sure colleagues will join me in thanking Peter for his work and in wishing him the very best as he moves on to pursue new interests.

Our Integration workstream team

As we move towards the creation of our new Society, we must balance organisational stability with strengthening the team needed to deliver integration. Phil has therefore formed an Integration workstream team to lead this work.

Phil Ponsonby

The Integration workstream leads will be fully focused on delivering the synergies set out in the PwC business case and going beyond these where possible. This work is essential to the successful integration and the long-term success of the new Society.

Meet your Integration team:

Michelle Cemm, People, OD & Comms, will lead pay and benefits policies and communication protocols.
Sean McGovern, Legal & Governance, will oversee legal structures and Board governance.
Andy Peake, Functional Integration & Synergies, will lead work on property leases, benefit tracking and commercial contract alignment.
Jacob Isherwood, IT Systems and Technology, will oversee central systems, operating systems and data warehouses.
Chris Chandler, Food Operating Model & Integration, will lead the development of policies operating procedures and performance benchmarking.

Looking ahead

The creation of our new Society brings exciting opportunities as one larger organisation, enabling us to continue deliver even more effectively for our colleagues, Members, customers and communities.

Both Phil and I are confident that this approach provides continuity and clarity, while also being a pragmatic and cost-effective. We have taken a deliberate decision to manage the integration internally in order to maximise benefits and reduce costs, supported by external consultants where needed. This approach ensures we retain expertise in the business while delivering best value for the Society.

We also recognise that change can feel unsettling. With that in mind, we want to be very clear: there will be no further people announcements relating to the integration before the transfer of engagements takes place on 26 January 2026.

The coming together of two great, independent co-operative societies to create a new Society for the future is a special moment for us all. As we move into this next chapter, there is a real sense of opportunity ahead. Thank you for the professionalism, commitment and care you continue to show every day to our Members, customers, communities and to one another. Together, we are building a new Society with a strong future.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Debbie Robinson

Chief Executive Officer