Biba CEO Steve White to retire

At the end of his opening address in Manchester this morning, White, pictured, said he will leave the trade body with “a heavy heart but also huge pride at what we have built at Biba”.

His exit comes after serving as CEO for the past 10 years and becomes the longest-serving leader in the association’s 47-year history.

He said: “I’ve done this job for 10 years now. A decade. That’s a long time. While I know none of you think I have aged a bit, it is a sad reality – we all do.

“I read with interest something the American writer Toni Morrison said. She wrote that ‘all art is knowing when to stop’. Well, I like to think of Biba as our collective work of art. And ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for me to stop.

“I have never made this job about me. It has always been about ‘we’. We have never been stronger. We have never been more stable. We have never been better. The team you have working at Biba is amazing, and it doesn’t really matter who is at the top.

“But as the guy on the stage now, I do get the last word. And I want to leave you with one of my favourite quotes from the leadership guru David Cottrell that I believe sums up why we are in a position of strength.

“He said ‘doing the right thing isn’t always easy – in fact, sometimes it’s real hard – but just remember that doing the right thing is always right’. Thank you for doing the right thing.”

Applause

His comments prompted applause from the Biba conference audience.

Under his tenure, White developed the association’s commercial function, the Find Insurance Service, and the trade body’s manifesto, which is produced following a tour of the regions and states what the organisation will lobby regulators and legislators for.

BBC News Anchor Huw Edwards, who once again chairs the Biba conference, said he was given only five minutes warning of White’s decision to announce his retirement on stage.

He said: “The applause says it all. There will be a time when you will be properly thanked. It has been a pleasure dealing with a leader in industry who sets out their vision so clearly.

“I have been impressed with the way you have led this industry. Can we once again underline what a fantastic job he has done? He has achieved things worthy of note. I’ll be sad to see him go.”

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