Moonpig names Autotrader exec as its next CEO

Moonpig has named former Auto Trader executive Catherine Faiers as its next boss, as Nickyl Raithatha prepares to step down after seven years leading the business.

Faiers is currently Auto Trader’s chief operating officer, having previously held top jobs Addison Lee, Trainline and Close Brothers Corporate Finance.

She will take a gross annual salary of £570,000 and a pension allowance reflecting 5 per cent of base salary, as well as a bonus and long-term incentive plan opportunity at 150 and 250 per cent of base salary respectively.

In addition to benefits like life assurance and private medical insurance, Moonpig said Faiers will also receive awards to ‘compensate’ her for bonus and share awards forfeited for leaving Auto Trader.

Kate Swann, non-executive chair said, said Faiers brings ‘a wealth of experience in e-commerce and public companies, with a proven track record of leading customer-focused digital, data, and technology transformations’.

Moonpig shares plunged in June after the unexpected announcement of Raithatha’s departure amid a £57million impairment charge that almost wiped out profits entirely last year.

On the move: Faiers is currently Auto Trader’s chief operating officer

More recently, Moonpig shares have responded positively to improved sales and profitability driven by the group’s embrace of artificial intelligence tools and additional customer applications.

Moonpig has seen its subscriber base top one million customers for the first time, with around half of all its cards now including optional add-ons such as AI-generated stickers, audio or video messages, or personalised handwriting.

Faiers, who is also an independent non-executive director of Polish online retailer Allegro.eu, said: ‘The Group has transformed the way people connect and celebrate through technology and creativity.

‘I look forward to working with the talented team to drive innovation, bring joy to our customers and to deliver sustainable value creation for all of our stakeholders.’

Moonpig shares were up 0.5 per cent at 217p in early trading. 

Shares are now up 2.6 per cent for 2025 after rebounding by more than 12 per cent since early September, but are still worth less than half of their value five years ago.  

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