Furnishings and homewares retail brand Neptune has announced the appointment of Will Kernan as its new chairman.

Will joins the business after almost a year from leaving River Island where he held the position of CEO. He left the retailer in November 2022 after three years to pursue “personal projects”.

Before River Island, Will served as CEO of Wiggle Chain Reaction Group and The White Company.

Commenting on his new role, Will said he was looking forward to “building on strong foundations” and working with Aalish and her team to “move the brand forward”.

The appointment also follows Neptune’s recruitment of Aalish Yorke-Long, the former managing director of Soho Home, as its first chief executive last year.

Wiltshire-based Neptune currently operates 27 stores across the UK and five in Europe.