Jo Whitfield is a retail leader with deep experience across food, clothing, and general merchandise. A qualified accountant, she began her career at Ernst & Young before holding senior roles at Northern Foods, Asda, Co-op and Matalan.

As CEO of Co-op Food, Jo led a six-year turnaround focused on customer proposition and innovation. She later joined Matalan as CEO, strengthening profitability and driving transformation before transitioning to a portfolio career. She now serves as Chair of the British Retail Consortium, Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair at Asda and Non-Executive Director at Factory International. She is also a senior advisor at Interpath.

Jo is a committed advocate for inclusivity and mentoring, and a pioneer of the Grocery Girls women's network. She was appointed CBE in the 2021 New Year Honours for services in feeding the nation during the Covid pandemic, and is a former Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year.