Hermes recruits chief transformation officer as parcel volumes soar

Hermes has appointed a chief transformation officer to support the business in the next stage of its development.

Fash Sawyerr will join the Hermes UK main board, reporting directly to chief executive Martijn de Lange.

He brings a proven track record in helping companies organise themselves for future growth, Hermes said.

He joins from Anchorage Capital, where he was an MD in its portfolio group driving transformation programmes. Prior to this, he spent eight years at Actis LLP, a London-based private equity fund specialising in emerging markets.

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Sawyerr's remit involves developing a transformation portfolio to focus on business-wide initiatives that will include driving process improvements, spearheading a new ESG strategy, entering new markets and creating new products designed to support Hermes’ growing numbers of retail and SME clients.

The appointment follows that of Tony De Nunzio CBE, who has joined Hermes as non-executive chairman to the shareholder board.

de Lange said: “My directors and I are pleased to welcome Fash on board, and we’re also proud to be attracting such a strong calibre of talent to our team. We have achieved momentous growth from £350m turnover seven years ago to what will be almost £1.5bn this year, so it’s vital that we continue to make the right investments in our business.

"Our parcel volumes have soared from 400 million last year to over 600 million this year and Fash will help us to think a bit differently, bring a fresh perspective and will really complement the skillsets that we already have in the business.”