Steven Geoffrey Murrells, (born 3 August 1965) is a British businessman, the former chief executive of

The Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-operative Group has over ...

, and the former chief executive of

Co-op Food Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom. Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used "The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co ...

(and Co-op Electricals). Co-op Food has over 2,800 stores in the UK – at least one in every postal area. It is the sixth largest food retailer in the UK. Co-op Food turns over around £9.5bn, with around 6% of the grocery market.

Early life

He was born in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

in Essex.

Career

Murrells held senior leadership roles in European and UK-based food retail businesses, including

One Stop Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

, Sainsbury’s and

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...

. He spent three years as CEO of Danish meat company, Tulip, before joining Co-op in 2012. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' reported that Murrells was paid a £2.2 million bonus in 2020. He became chief executive of Co-operative Retail in July 2012. He became chief executive of The Co-operative Group on 1 March 2017. Murrells was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to the food supply chain. In May 2022, it was announced that he would be succeeded as CEO by Shirine Khoury-Haq.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murrells, Steve 1965 births British retail chief executives English businesspeople in retailing People from Colchester People from Prestbury, Cheshire The Co-operative Group Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire