French sports retail giant Decathlon has announced a new leadership structure for the UK and Irish markets under two company veterans with Elena Pecos, who’s already CEO of Decathlon Ireland, now leading the UK too. Meanwhile Romain Gravigny has been unveiled as new COO for the UK & Ireland region.
Elena Pecos and Romain Gravigny – Decathlon
Pecos will take over from Eric Mazillier, “marking the start of a new chapter as the two territories officially combine operations under one leadership team”.
She brings “a wealth of experience across both retail and finance”. Since joining Decathlon in Spain in 2006, she’s held roles spanning store management, finance leadership in Spain and France, and CFO positions internationally in Chile and within the Circular Economy team, before taking the top role in Ireland in 2023.
Gravigny has been with Decathlon for over two decades, with extensive experience leading store networks and operations across multiple markets, including most recently being CEO at Decathlon Australia. As UK & Ireland COO, he’ll focus on “driving operational excellence, customer experience, and growth for both markets”.
The company said the leadership moves come “at a time of renewed momentum for Decathlon in both the UK and in Ireland, following a year of significant investment and transformation”.
In 2024, the UK business modernised 15 flagship stores, launched a new e-commerce platform and completed a warehouse automation project, “which is already generating results” with turnover across all sales channels up 15% in the first half of 2025. In Ireland, turnover grew 20% in H1, alongside the modernisation of one flagship store.
It also said its employee engagement scores rose to 92% in 2024 in the UK, while more than 110,000 circular services including repairs, refurbishments, and buybacks were delivered to customers. In Ireland, employee engagement reached 86%, circular economy growth was up 85%, and the business deepened community ties through new partnerships with Padel LK in Limerick and Na Fianna CLG in Dublin. Decathlon Ireland “also saw strong cultural momentum”, with TikTok videos reaching more than 900,000 views.
The company’s UK and Irish businesses are part of the global group that saw €16.2 billion turnover last year and operates 1,815 stores worldwide. Decathlon UK & Ireland runs 45 stores, logistics, and support functions and its predicted turnover for 2025 is €460 million.
