Management Team

JOHN CLARE CBE – Chairman

John Clare was appointed Chairman of Comet in February 2012.

As one of the most experienced people in retail, John served as the Chief Executive Officer of DSG International Ltd (formerly Dixons Group Plc) for 13 years until 2007. Having joined the company in 1985 as Marketing Director, through a variety of high profile roles, he was responsible for creating and selling the ISP ‘Freeserve’, creating the PC World Chain, the international expansion of Currys and the launch of The Link mobile phone stores in the UK. 

He was awarded the CBE in 2004.

Prior to joining Dixons, he held senior posts at Ladbroke Group plc and Mars Inc.  His Non-Executive roles have included Hammerson plc, and Chairman of both Dreams plc and JJB Sports plc.  He currently is Chairman of Capital and Regional plc and a Non-Executive Director of the Department of Work and Pensions.

BOB DARKE - Chief Executive

Bob Darke was appointed as Managing Director of Comet in May 2011.

Bob joined Comet in 2000 and was responsible for forming the Grey Goods commercial function.  In 2003, Bob was promoted to Head of Marketing – and spearheaded the company re launch programme in August 2005.  In March 2006 he was appointed to the Comet Board as Commercial Director.

Prior to joining Comet, Bob held a number of senior roles with Kingfisher, latterly Head of Toys Business Unit at Woolworths.

Bob’s role as Commercial Director encompasses commercial, supply chain and direct channel functions.  After graduating from Kingston Polytechnic, Bob spent five years as a Management Consultant with Retail Solutions.

CARL COWLING - Chief Operating Officer

Carl Cowling was appointed Chief Operating Officer in November 2011.

Carl first joined Comet in 1995 working as an assistant store manager and progressed through different roles including Category Manager of Home Entertainment and latterly Category Manager for Vision.

Carl left Comet in 2003 to join the DSGi Group where he held a number of senior roles, including Commercial Director and Multi-Channel Director within Currys. Most recently he was MD of Dixons Travel.

CHRIS PAVLOSKY – Interim Services Director

Chris Pavlosky was appointed Interim Services Director in February 2012.

Chris has a long career in retail, manufacturing, FMCG, brewing and printing, both in the public and private sectors.   In the UK and mainland Europe he has acted for a number of large blue chip companies and private equity firms at Director, MD, CEO and at Chairman level.

Chris was most recently Interim Chief Executive for the Homeform Group Ltd (including Sharps, Moben Kitchens and Dophin Bathrooms) where he managed the successful pre-pack of the Sharps Bedroom business and stayed on as a Non-Executive Director for Sharps Bedrooms Ltd.

Prior to that Chris was a partner in the strategic advisory firm Blueground Partners. From 2006 – 2010 he was Chairman of Globelink Ltd, a leading travel support company.

For more information about the owners of Comet, OpCapita, and their management team please visit www.opcapita.co.uk