George Hutchinson, a former regional operations director at Pets at Home, has joined Dobbies Garden Centres as retail director.

An experienced retail operator, George was at Pets at Home for four years before moving to Dobbies, and had previously held senior positions at Wickes, B&Q and Tesco.

George said: “Over the past few months Dobbies has relaunched two stores, with more to come – to see that level of investment in both the fabric of the stores, and the store teams, is brilliant. I’m really looking forward to playing a key role in driving Dobbies forward and building on the positive developments that have taken place this year.”

George is one of two appointments aimed at strengthening Dobbies’ executive team, the other being that of Richard Herbert as restaurant director. 

Richard is an experienced F&B professional, joining Dobbies from Bourne Leisure, where he led their national food and beverage offering for over four years. Prior to that, he spent nearly 12 years at Pizza Express, latterly as central operations and programme director. 

The appointments build on a series of senior appointments that have been made over the last 18 months, bringing with them extensive retail, hospitality and commercial experience. 

David Robinson, CEO of Dobbies, said: “We’ve been focused on building a really strong senior team and we’re proud to share the news of these recent appointments. Both George and Richard bring fantastic experience, that complements the expertise we already have in place. They’ll each have essential roles in driving forward our strategy, building on the strong start we have had this spring so far.”

These appointments come as operations director, Nick Anderson, steps down from his role after 12 years. 

David adds: “We’d like to thank Nick for his tireless hard work and commitment over the last 12 years. He’s a hugely respected figure in the team, and he’s seen Dobbies through many challenges and successes over the years. We wish him all the best for the future.”