J Sainsbury plc announced that after six years as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Kevin O'Byrne has confirmed his intention to retire from Sainsbury's at the end of this financial year, in March 2023. Following a thorough external and internal search to identify a successor, the Board is pleased to appoint Bláthnaid Bergin, Commercial and Retail Finance Director, as Kevin's successor. Bláthnaid will start as Chief Financial Officer and join the PLC board on 6thMarch 2023.

Kevin joined Sainsbury's in January 2017 and, as a member of the PLC and Operating Board, has played an instrumental role in developing and implementing strategy, in particular increasing free cash flow generation, strengthening the balance sheet and reducing leverage. Bláthnaid joined Sainsbury's in 2019 as Group Director of Finance before moving to Commercial and Retail Finance Director in 2021. Bláthnaid has a strong record of financial leadership and, over the last three years at Sainsbury's, has supported the development and delivery of strategy.

Prior to joining Sainsbury's, Bláthnaid was Chief Finance Operations Officer at Aviva. She was also Group Financial Controller for RSA Insurance as well as Joint Interim Group Chief Financial Officer for six months. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and spent most of her career at GE in various finance roles working across Europe, Asia and Australia.

Bláthnaid is also a Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Audit Committee and Senior Independent Director for Artemis Alpha Investment Trust.