John Smedley appoints deputy managing director

John Smedley, the knitwear manufacturer, has appointed Jess Mcguire-Dudley as its new deputy managing director, effective immediately.

Mcguire-Dudley joined John Smedley in 2014 in the newly created role of head of marketing and within six months she had also taken on the responsibility for the design teams to become head of marketing and merchandising. Most recently, Mcguire-Dudley served as the global brand director at the Derbyshire-based knitwear business.

In her new role as deputy managing director, Mcguire-Dudley will continue her brand duties alongside additional responsibility for the customer journey, quality and sustainability initiatives, explained the knitwear manufacturer in a statement.

Mcguire-Dudley will also share responsibility for the top team and overall business management with John Smedley’s current managing director Ian Maclean.

Bryan Jackson, chairman of John Smedley, said in a statement: “Jess has worked tirelessly to develop the global brand and bring into focus how we see the company further developing to meet the needs of our customer now and in the future. I am delighted to see Jess appointed as deputy managing director.”

Maclean added: “As we continue the task of modernising John Smedley, both as a manufacturer and a brand, I am very pleased that Jess has accepted our offer to be the driving force in sustaining our Company into the future with energy and new ideas – exciting times ahead.”

John Smedley is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in the world, producing fine gauge knitwear from their Lea Mills, Derbyshire factory since 1784. The company also produces its own branded menswear and womenswear range, which is available worldwide via their standalone retail stores in St James’s, Mayfair and Marylebone in London, and Tokyo, Yokohama and Kyoto in Japan. It also exports its products to more than 47 countries worldwide via international wholesale partners such as Mr Porter, Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Isetan, Di Bijenkorf and Le Bon Marche.