New FD at Kingfisher plc is Kevin O’Byrne

Kingfisher plc, Europe’s leading home improvement retailer has announced the appointment of a new Group Finance Director.

Kevin O’Byrne is appointed Group Finance Director with effect from 1 October 2008 and will join the Kingfisher main Board as an executive director on the same date. Kevin, 43, joins from DSG International, the electrical retailing group, where he has been Group Finance Director since 2004. He succeeds Duncan Tatton-Brown, who has been Group Finance Director for the last four years and who will leave Kingfisher in mid-October to pursue a new career outside the Group.

Kevin O’Byrne said: “This is a very exciting opportunity. Kingfisher is a leading international retailer with market-leading brands both in the UK and overseas. The business has many opportunities and I’m looking forward to working with Ian and the rest of the Retail Board to help deliver the Group’s full potential.”

Kevin O’Byrne has been Group Finance Director of DSG International since 2004. From 2002 he was Retail Finance Director at DSG. From 2000 to 2002 he was Chief Financial Officer of Hemscott, an online provider of financial information. Between 1995 and 2000 he was European Finance Director at the Quaker Oats Company. He is a Chartered Accountant and started his career at Arthur Andersen where he worked from 1987 to 1995. He is a non-executive director of Land Securities plc.

Company Profile

Kingfisher plc is Europe’s leading home improvement retail group and the third largest in the world, with over 800 stores in nine countries in Europe and Asia. Its main retail brands are B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix. Kingfisher also has a 21% interest in, and strategic alliance with Hornbach, Germany’s leading large format DIY retailer.