JD Sports’ brand marketing director for the UK and Europe, Chris Waters, has left the sportswear giant to take on the role of chief marketing officer at German Doner Kebab.

Waters, who revealed the move on LinkedIn, will officially join the fast-expanding high street food retailer from today (1 September).

He had been with JD Sports for three years, initially joining the business as UK retail marketing director in 2022 before being promoted to brand marketing director across the UK and Europe in April 2023.

In his most recent role, Waters was responsible for managing budgets across both regions, overseeing campaign planning, media investment and PR.

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Waters joined JD from Morrisons, where he was head of in-store marketing, and had previously spent nearly eight years at Asda in a variety of marketing roles. In total, he brings more than two decades of experience across FMCG and fashion retail.

His new employer, German Doner Kebab, is targeting rapid expansion, with plans to open 300 UK restaurants and hit £400m in sales by 2028.

The move comes as JD Sports continues to navigate a mixed trading environment.

Last week, the retailer reported that like-for-like sales dipped in Q2 and H1, although organic sales rose once acquisitions were stripped out.