Retail Excellence has confirmed the appointment of Duncan Graham as its new managing director following the departure of David Fitzsimons last month.
The lobby group for the retail industry said Mr Graham, who is originally from Nottingham, has "a wealth of experience" in Irish retail since his arrival in Cork in 1996 where he spent two years running the Marks and Spencer store before relocating to Dublin.
Since then he has worked with Brown Thomas as general manager before becoming CEO of a ladieswear company. For the past nine years he has been responsible for the expansion of the Specsavers brand across Ireland, Scotland and Spain.
Retail Excellence chairman and chief operating officer of Applegreen Joe Barrett said: "We are delighted that Duncan has joined Retail Excellence at such a critical time for Irish retail and we wish him success in helping shape the industry for the future."
Retail Excellence has more than 2,200 members with over 13,000 stores in the Republic.
