Trevor Eastwood AM today announced he would be stepping down as Chairman of Wesfarmers Limited at the company’s Annual General Meeting in November 2008.

Mr Eastwood took up the role as Chairman of Wesfarmers, one of Australia’s largest companies and owners of Coles Group, in 2002 after joining the Board back in 1994. The company advised that Dr Bob Every, a current Non-Executive Director, will succeed Mr Eastwood on November 13, with Dr Every to take on the position of Deputy Chairman until the transition takes place.

Mr Eastwood indicated that he thought it was now an appropriate time for him to retire as the company continues to embark on a major change. “I have been extremely fortunate to have been Chairman during a time of tremendous growth and transition for the company,” Mr Eastwood stated. “Transformation of the group into a truly national enterprise has accelerated, particularly over the past year with the acquisition of the Coles Group.”

Wesfarmers are now Australia’s largest private sector employer with over 200,000 employees and the purchase of the under-performing Coles Group for $20 billion last year has provided them with a great opportunity for growth.

Wesfarmers has since been dedicated to bringing in overseas management to create an appropriate re-development strategy for Coles. Archie Norman, the former boss of UK retailer Asda, has, in his role as a consultant for Wesfarmers, been luring high profile executives from the UK with Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s managers among those set to join the Coles team this year.

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