A native of Glasgow, Mr Pattison previously served as commercial director at Sunderland-based SCS, a sofa and furniture retailer, where he helped spearhead their UK-wide concept store rollout and partnered with designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Mr Pattison, with over two decades of board director experience, will lead Sterling Furniture Group during a critical transition period as the company rebrands to Sterling Home across its ten showrooms throughout Scotland. The appointment, which will be effective from August, comes after an intensive and competitive hiring process.

The changing of the guard will see Mr Pattison work closely with the outgoing managing director, Gordon Mearns, to ensure a smooth transition. Mr Mearns, who has guided Sterling for 20 years and originally joined the firm in 1984, will be stepping down from his role. His tenure at the company saw him rise from the finance director to managing director in 2003.

The senior leadership reshuffle also witnessed the promotion of several third-generation family members of the founder, George Knowles, to the company’s board. These include Murray and Euan Graham, sons of Lesley Graham, deputy managing director and daughter of George Knowles Sr, and Ms Graham’s nephew, George.

Sterling is also investing significantly in its digital function to drive consumer traffic and purchase – an area in which data-driven Mr Pattison is highly skilled, having led the rebranding of the ScS website in 2020.

Ms Graham said: “After a rigorous recruitment process where we interviewed a breadth of excellent candidates, we feel we’ve found absolutely the right person for our new CEO role in John Pattison.

“A highly experienced retail leader, he worked his way up from the shop floor to boardroom roles at major national firms, including ScS, Londis and Booker Retail Partners.

“We were very impressed by the way he dedicated a significant amount of time getting to know the business during the recruitment process, visiting each of our stores in person multiple times.

“Like us, John believes in the massive potential to make Sterling a recognised national brand once again and he’s brimming with exciting ideas to help us make that happen. We can’t wait for him to get started!”

Mr Pattison said: “I’m hugely privileged to be joining Sterling Furniture Group, particularly in such an important year, recognising 50 years of long and successful service to Scottish households and families.

“Over the past few years, the business has shown great courage and ambition in transforming into Sterling Home.

“I know that the aspiration of the family, following in the footsteps of our founder George Knowles, is to continue to inspire Scotland’s homes as we enter the next 50 years. I can’t wait to join the team.”