Harding+ appoints Simon Luscombe as Chief Financial Officer
Simon Luscombe takes on the role of Chief Financial Officer at Harding+
Leading global cruise retail specialist Harding+ has appointed Simon Luscombe as Chief Financial Officer to its leadership team. He will support the business’s ongoing growth and customer transformation program.
Luscombe brings a wealth of retail finance expertise, having spent the past eight years at Homebase as Finance Director and CFO. Prior to that, he held senior finance and Trading Director roles during his 9-year tenure at high street fashion retailer Hobbs.
In his new role, Luscombe will leverage his extensive retail insights to drive financial performance and support Harding+’s strategic growth ambitions.
Chris Matthews, Harding+ CEO, commented, “Simon brings a wealth of expertise in leading financial strategy across multi-site retail operations. His sharp focus on efficiency, innovation, and change management in a fast-evolving sector aligns perfectly with our mission to simplify complexity for our business and partners, while driving sustained, profitable growth.”
“This is an exciting moment to step into a dynamic industry and join a business built on a strong foundation of success and operational excellence,” Luscombe said. “Harding+ stands out with its guest-centric retail model and long-term, collaborative partnerships that drive future growth. I look forward to bringing to cruise some of the insights from my 20 years in bricks and mortar retail.”
Luscombe replaces Bill Showalter, who is stepping down after 18 months of playing a key role in the recent customer transformation program, enhancing all aspects of the finance operation in that time.
Matthews added, “Bill has been an outstanding leader of our finance function and a trusted voice on the operating board, providing invaluable guidance and support. He steps down having successfully delivered on all that was asked of him, and on the back of what has been a successful year. As we enter the next stage of our journey, Simon’s deep retail expertise will bring fresh perspectives to drive our continued growth.”
“It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with this team and to help transform a fantastic business and build an industry-leading finance function,” Showalter said. “I am absolutely confident in the Harding+ direction of travel and look forward to following its continued success.”
Alongside Matthews as CEO and Luscombe as CFO, the Harding+ executive leadership team now comprises Mark Birnie as longstanding Chief Operating Officer, Linzi Walker as Chief Commercial Officer, Mark Powell as Chief People Officer and Mikos Taylor as Chief Technology Officer.
“This is a team that is fueled by brilliant retail experience from multiple sectors, with shared ambitions for where we are heading, and strong teams at every level,” Matthews said. “Which means we can continue to bring positive disruption to the sector as the only 100% cruise retail specialist, and keep innovation, customer centric thinking and the spirit of constant improvement front and center at all times.”
