Primark chief executive Paul Marchant has resigned following a company investigation into his behaviour toward a woman “in a social environment”, the budget fashion chain’s owner Associated British Foods announced Monday.
His resignation, which takes immediate effect, comes after he spent 16 years as Primark’s CEO, overseeing its expansion in Europe and into the United States.
“Marchant cooperated with the investigation, acknowledged his error of judgement and accepts that his actions fell below the standards expected by ABF,” the company said in a statement.
“He has made an apology to the individual concerned,” the group added.
ABF said it continues to offer support to the person who brought his behaviour to its attention.
The group did not immediately provide further details when contacted by AFP.
“I am immensely disappointed,” George Weston, chief executive of ABF, said in the statement.
He added that “our culture has to be, and is, bigger than any one individual”.
Marchant will be replaced on an interim basis by Eoin Tonge, ABF’s chief financial officer.