Carole Walker has been promoted to CEO of Hermes Europe, with UK MD Martijn de Lange stepping into her shoes as UK CEO.

Carole Hermes Rugby hub

New Hermes Europe CEO Carole Walker begins construction on the UK Rugby super hub

The new appointments take effect from today (2 November).

Hermes said that Walker and de Lange will work closely over the coming months to ensure the UK division sees a seamless transition between the CEOs.

Walker has held the UK CEO role since 2009, having joined the Otto Group 30 years ago.

She said: “I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved in the UK and would like to thank my fantastic team. This new role is an amazing opportunity for me to use my experience, industry expertise and UK success to help support and develop Hermes’ businesses across Europe.

"I am excited about the possibilities and opportunities, not only for me personally, but for us as a Group. My passion for Hermes UK could not be more apparent and I intend to take that same passion across the Group.”

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De Lange, who joined the organisation from TNT in 2014, became UK MD in March this year and has been responsible for the day to day running of the operation since then.

The new UK CEO said: “I am honoured to become CEO of such an amazing business as we continue our journey ‘to be the carrier of choice for every end consumer in the UK’.

"We are making the transition from an operational business to a more customer experience and technology driven organisation and this is an exciting time for us.

"I am really looking forward to taking this agenda forward, and of course focusing Hermes on our current priority, which is to ensure that we deliver a fantastic Peak for our retailers.”

Last month, de Lange told MT that Hermes was going to be building its next-day delivery operation in the coming years and releasing a new customer app in 2018, all driven by the company's renewed focus on technological innovation and customer service.