Lionel Desclée steps down as CEO The Very Group

After just a year and a half in charge of The Very Group, Belgian CEO Lionel Desclée is leaving the British pure player. His successor is Robbie Feather.

New opportunities

Desclée has chosen to step down as Very CEO, he confirms on LinkedIn and through a press release. The Belgian national started in September 2022 at the British online department store group, just months after Dirk Van den Berghe was appointed as president of the board. That probably was not a coincidence, as they share a history at both Delhaize and Walmart.

However, Van den Berghe stepped down from his function at The Very Group in January, and a few months later Desclée follows suit. The CEO says he wants to pursue “new opportunities”, while he remains active as board member at both pet specialist Tom&Co and the Belgian national post service, bpost.

Desclée’s successor as The Very Group CEO is former Retail Managing Director Robbie Feather, who has been active at the company since 2021. Prior to that, he was CEO of department store chain Fenwick.