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Wolseley appoints Adrian Barden to new global leadership team

07 September 2006

Adrian Barden, Managing Director of Wolseley UK, has been promoted to Senior Vice President at Wolseley plc, effective from 1 October 2006.

It is one of the first of a number of senior appointments to establish a core leadership team from across Wolseley Group, being made by new CEO Chip Hornsby, to drive his global growth strategy.

The new leadership team will support key growth areas identified by the business, including acquisitions, product sourcing, supply chain, business improvement and leadership development. It will drive growth from the centre to deliver efficiencies and synergies across Wolseley plc’s business, which spans 14 countries and employs 70,000 people.

Adrian will initially be responsible for managing the integration of the Nordic DT Group acquisition, announced in July, for £1.35 billion, and establishing a global acquisitions group. He will be based at Wolseley plc’s headquarters in Theale, near Reading.

Chip Hornsby CEO of Wolseley commented: “I am delighted to announce this appointment as Adrian has ably demonstrated the ability to drive growth both organically and through acquisition. He has great industry experience, and has previously managed companies in a variety of countries within the group.

“This appointment is a great opportunity to continue the legacy of developing the organisation by promoting from within to fill key management roles.”

Adrian Barden (51) joined Wolseley UK in 1991 and was appointed Managing Director in August 2003. He has an impressive track record of delivering organic growth and has successfully integrated ten acquisitions, including Brooks Ireland, William Wilson, AC Electrical and Encon, into the UK business over the past three years.

Nigel Sibley, currently Wolseley UK’s Brand Development Director (Ireland) and Commercial Director (UK), has been appointed the new Managing Director of Wolseley UK, and will take up this position from 1 October. Nigel (43) joined Wolseley UK in 2005, and has successfully led the acquisition and integration of Brandon Hire. Prior to this he held senior executive positions at Rank Group.

Adrian Barden and Nigel Sibley (right) are pictured above.

Wolseley UK’s Business Development Director Nick Nearchou has been promoted to the post of Director of European Strategy and Developing Businesses, which is also effective from 1 October.

In his new European role, Nick Nearchou will primarily be responsible for European strategy, developing and driving pan-European business formats across all the operating companies in Europe, and supporting Adrian Barden in developing an integration plan for the newly acquired DT Group.

Further appointments to the Wolseley plc core leadership team will be announced in due course.

Notes to Editors:
Wolseley plc is the world’s largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products and a leading supplier of building materials to professional contractors in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. Group revenues for the year ended 31 July 2005 were approximately £11.3 billion and operating profit, before amortisation of acquired intangibles, was £708 million. Wolseley has more than 70,000 employees operating in 14 countries namely: UK, USA, France, Canada, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg and Denmark. Wolseley is listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges (LSE: WOS, NYSE: WOS) and is in the FTSE 100 index of listed companies.

Enquiries
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