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		</div><p>Debenhams has appointed a turnaround expert to lead the business, as it prepares to close stores and rebuild performance after being put into administration earlier this year.</p>
<p>Stefaan Vansteenkiste is to become chief executive, while chairman Terry Duddy will step down from the board in September.</p>
<p>Mr Vansteenkiste has already been working at the company as chief restructuring officer since April, when the group was put into administration and fell into the hands of its lenders.</p>
<p>He is a managing director at professional services firm Alvarez &; Marsal, and has previously been chief executive of Holland&#8217;s Intertoys chain and food group Vion.</p>
<p>He said: <em>&#8220;The retail industry faces a challenging environment and everyone at Debenhams acknowledges that.</em></p>
<p><em>&#8220;But we have a clear plan and Debenhams has a great team of people who are committed to delivering it.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>He succeeds Sergio Bucher, who stepped down shortly after the company&#8217;s administration this year. He had already been voted off the board by Mike Ashley&#8217;s Sports Direct at a general meeting in January.</p>
<p>The same meeting also led to previous chairman Ian Cheshire being ousted from the company, after which he was replaced by Mr Duddy.</p>
<p>Mr Duddy will now stay on to ensure a smooth handover to Mr Vansteenkiste, before stepping down in September.</p>
<p>Mr Duddy said: <em>&#8220;The board welcomes Stefaan&#8217;s appointment as CEO. We concluded that he is the right person to take the business forward into the next phase of its recovery. Stefaan has already made a strong contribution since joining Debenhams, and has the support of our investor consortium to drive forward our turnaround plan.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Debenhams gained approval for rent cuts and store closures through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) earlier this year, paving the way for 50 store closures and 1,200 job losses.</p>
<p>However the CVA is facing a challenge from Combined Property Control Group (CPC), funded by Sports Direct.</p>
<p>If the plans go ahead, store closures are not expected to start until early 2020.</p>
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