CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 14 CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards 2018 FRANCE VÉRONIQUE LAURY CEO of Kingfisher FIRM PROFILE Our customers are everyone wanting to improve their home - whether they are owners or renters - as well as those who help them, from expert DIYers to professionals. We base everything we do on the reality of people’s lives, on the different types of houses they live in, and on real home improvement needs. In 2015, we launched the One Kingfisher strategy. We saw huge opportunity in combining and concentrating our strengths to work as one company. Where global functions and local Operating Companies work hand in hand enabling the business to become more efficient and competitive. From using technology to create a seamless customer experience, to complementing digital capability with an inspiring store experience, and from developing and designing leading edge product ranges ourselves, to building in sustainability everywhere – in our products and in our operations. Our 78,000 colleagues have a common passion for home improvement and each has a role to play in helping us achieve our purpose to make home improvement accessible to millions of people. Our people are committed to excellence and keeping things simple, are curious and always humble - and we help everyone to grow their knowledge of home improvement to make our customers’ home improvement projects that little bit easier. In the year ended 31 January 2018, we reported sales of around £11.7 billion, with underlying pre- tax profits of £797 million. We are included in the FTSE4Good socially responsible investment index, and we participate in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) Climate and Forests questionnaires annually. OUR STRATEGY Following an in-depth review of Kingfisher’s businesses, alongside detailed studies of our customers’ home improvement needs, we announced the ONE Kingfisher transformation plan in January 2016. This plan will leverage the scale of the business by creating a unified company, where customer needs always come first. The following pages provide detail about our ambition, our transformation plan, and our progress: Our ambition is to become the leading home improvement company. We believe everyone should have a home they feel good about, so our purpose is to make home improvement accessible for everyone. In 2015, we were faced with a choice: disrupt ourselves or face being disrupted by new, agile competitors. We were a good company, built by hard-working colleagues, with solid sales and profit, and 1,200 stores across 10 markets. Our scale wasn’t used well enough. We were also not leveraging the massive potential of our markets. People always want to cherish where they live and will spend money to make their homes better. And with more people living in less space, within older houses and looking for more comfort, the home improvement market is large and growing. But the home improvement journey can be a nightmare with many barriers: lack of inspiration, budget, time, skills, or even just daily life. ABOUT VÉRONIQUE LAURY Véronique is a highly experienced international retailer who has worked in the home improvement sector for more than 25 years in France and in the UK. She joined Kingfisher in 2003, after spending 15 years at Leroy Merlin in various commercial roles, and in her 15 years with the business she has held several key roles including Chief Executive of Castorama France, Group Commercial Director and Commercial Director of B&Q UK & Ireland. She became Chief Executive Officer on 8 December 2014.