12:37 pm, August 2, 2022
Online disruptor Cazoo has announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer after a turbulent period for the used car outfit.
The post is currently held by Stephen Morana, who has been with the company since July 2020, during which time it has struggled to become profitable.
Accounts published today (August 2) revealed that the online retailer doubled its losses to £243m in the first half of this year.
Following on from the announcement of those results, Cazoo has confirmed that Morana, 51, is to be replaced by Paul Woolf.
The new man arrives from semiconductor firm, Graphcore, and will take over from Morana in Q4 of this year.
In the meantime, Morana has agreed to remain in post to aid Woolf and ensure a seamless transition.
Woolf, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oxford, has previously worked for the likes of CPA Global, Virgin Active, Birds Eye Iglo and The Automobile Association.
Confirming the switch, Alex Chesterman OBE, founder and CEO of Cazoo, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Paul to the Cazoo team.
‘He has a proven and strong record as Chief Financial Officer of a number of leading international businesses across a variety of sectors and we look forward to benefiting from his wealth of experience as we continue to scale our operations while remaining laser-focused on cash preservation and our path to profitability.
‘I would like to thank Stephen for his notable contributions, including leading the company through its NYSE listing, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.’
During his time at Cazoo, Morana oversaw enormous spending with the firm desperate to establish its brand throughout Europe.
It poured millions into buying up other firms and sponsoring sports teams and events before changing tact earlier this year.
In June, the company launched a major cost-cutting exercise, slashing its both jobs and its marketing budget in the process.
A document to shareholders also admitted that despite all the money spent, Cazoo may never achieve profitability.
Addressing his departure, Moran said: ‘I have really enjoyed my time at Cazoo.
‘The pace of growth has been incredible to see and I am highly confident in the team’s ability to continue to build an amazing and highly profitable company.’
Our full Car Dealer investigation into Cazoo can be viewed at the top of this story or on our YouTube channel.
