Leading Edge Retail appoints Lee Scott as chief executive

The Leading Edge Retail Group has appointed Lee Scott as the new CEO of its Australian operation.

Leading Edge Retail Group CEO Simon Lane will step down at the end of the financial year for personal reasons but remaining on the Leading Edge Board.

Scott, who was the company’s General Manager of Marketing and Strategic Procurement, returned to Leading Edge over two years ago after a successful tenure at Auto One Australia.

He had worked for Leading Edge for almost 15 years in various positions, including Group General Manager and General Manager of Leading Edge Computers. During that time, Leading Edge forged partnerships with the likes of Cisco and Lenovo.

Scott will report directly to the Board and assume responsibility for all Australian operations.

The New Zealand operation was closed earlier this year.

UK director Dan Hill will control the other arm of the business separately.

It provides outsourced sales support to BT and has expanded rapidly over the last two years, allowing the company to restructure so that it reports directly to the board.

Lane said “our Board had no hesitation in signing off Lee’s appointment as CEO on the back of his experience and expertise in Leading Edge and the industry as a whole."

"He is the right person to continue to drive the Leading Edge Retail brand strategy and expanded channel approach.”

On his past three and a half years with Leading Edge, Lane stated that he was most proud of how the team responded to its support of its membership base during COVID.

“It was no doubt the hardest trading period for retailers in Australia’s history."

"The efforts our team made to keep small family businesses alive was nothing short of commendable."

"It’s one of the reasons why our membership is rising at its fastest rate in seven years,” Lane said.

Lane expressed confidence in leaving the business in Scott's capable hands, noting that the operation is well-positioned to face future challenges.