Robert Elsey is set to depart from the UK-wide Co-op Group in October after just under five years as Group Chief Technology Officer. It is not yet known what role he will take on next. The Co-op Group has begun the search for a successor. The retail group has not yet named a candidate, nor has it announced an interim arrangement or a timetable for filling the vacancy.
Other senior executives have also left the Co-op Group this year or announced their departure. At the end of March, Chief Executive Officer Shirine Khoury-Haq handed over the reins to Kate Allum, who is leading the group on an interim basis for the time being. In June, the Co-op Group also confirmed the departure of Head of Food Matt Hood, as well as Commercial Directors Nicole Tallant and Tom Bradley, without specifying any connection between these personnel changes.
The Co-op Group had created the role of Group Chief Technology Officer in 2021 and entrusted Robert Elsey with overseeing technology across the entire group. He later also took on the role of Chief Digital and Information Officer. The business areas of the British consumer co-operative, headquartered in Manchester, include food retail, funeral services, insurance and legal advice.
Cyberattack took a heavy toll on Co-op in 2025
The severe cyberattack in April 2025 also occurred during Robert Elsey’s tenure. At the time, the Co-op Group restricted access to its own systems in order to contain the attack. Nevertheless, criminals managed to copy members’ personal data, including names, contact details and dates of birth.
The attack also caused significant disruption to the flow of goods and sales. The Co-op Group has put the direct loss of revenue for 2025 at 285 million British pounds. According to the retail group, the incident cost the company 86 million British pounds in lost earnings, with a further 21 million British pounds incurred in one-off additional costs.
SAP moved to the cloud
As early as 2024, the Co-op Group migrated its core business software to Rise with SAP S/4HANA. In doing so, the company moved its finance and procurement processes to the cloud. At the same time, the platform is designed to stabilise business-critical applications for sales forecasting, planning and stock availability.
The technology organisation, led by Robert Elsey, has also further developed the online business of the retail group. For instance, the Co-op Group has introduced Store Assist from Walmart Commerce Technologies. The solution has consolidated orders from the company’s own offerings and external delivery platforms into a single system and simplified order picking in the shops.
Co-op modernises shop communication
The Co-op Group is currently also upgrading its communication technology in more than 2,300 shops. Following a trial in 114 outlets, the retailer began rolling out Vocovo’s S5 Pro headsets in February 2026. The devices are designed to connect store staff with one another and with the support centre, enabling them to respond more quickly to customer enquiries, stock checks, parcel collections and online orders.
In addition, the newly created Group Commercial and Logistics unit tested VST’s Planogram Publisher in early 2026. Initially, five suppliers were given direct access to planogram data for four weeks. The Co-op Group then intended to open up the platform to further suppliers in order to speed up coordination regarding product ranges and shelf placements.
Robert Elsey came from the world of finance
Before joining the Co-op Group, Robert Elsey worked at the Bank of England for six years. He started there as Head of Technology and Chief Technology Officer. From January 2016 to October 2021, Robert Elsey was Executive Director and Chief Information Officer, responsible for the Bank of England’s technology.
Prior to that, Robert Elsey held several senior positions at Vodafone. Among other things, he led business intelligence as well as customer management and billing systems there, before taking on overall responsibility for IT in the UK in 2013. Previous roles in business intelligence and revenue assurance took Robert Elsey to Cable & Wireless Communications and Virgin Media.
