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Watches of Switzerland COO Steps Down
Tony Broderick will leave the position in April after 40 years with the company.
A Watches of Switzerland store in London. Tony Broderick, COO of the luxury watch company, will step down in April. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Edwardx)
London—Watches of Switzerland Group COO Tony Broderick is stepping down in April after four decades with the company.
Broderick joined the group’s U.K.-based retail brand Goldsmiths in 1979 as a supervisor in the warehouse. He later moved on to retail management, beginning at the store level, then onto regional and, finally, national.
He joined the board of directors in 2000, stepping into the role of COO in 2009.
“During his time with the company, Tony has seen many ownership changes, management changes and market changes, and his success is a tribute to his commitment, his personal adaptability and most significantly, the immediate respect and support that he commands,” CEO Brian Duffy said in a press release announcing Broderick’s departure.
In lieu of appointing a new COO, the company has created the new role of executive director in the U.K., a spokesperson confirmed to National Jeweler.
Craig Bolton will fill the new position, overseeing operations in the U.K.
Previously, Bolton worked for 14 years as an executive in the group’s U.K. retail brands division, which includes Goldsmiths and Mappin & Webb.
David Hurley, executive vice president in the United States, will continue to lead the company’s U.S. division.
Duffy said the U.S. business has been performing “very well,” crediting the success in part to the roles Bolton and Hurley have played thus far.
“We are well-positioned as we move into 2020 with strong business momentum and exciting new growth opportunities in both the U.K. and U.S.,” he said.
Watches of Switzerland Group went public in June, listing its shares on the London Stock Exchange.
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