Martin Stables joins IBMG as Group Chief Commercial Officer

He brings a wealth of experience to IBMG, gained from leadership roles in procurement, category, merchandising, supply chain and pricing with Saint-Gobain and Jewson

The Independent Builders Merchant Group, the largest independent builders merchant group in the South of England, has appointed Martin Stables as Group Chief Commercial Officer.  

Stables is highly experienced within the building distribution industry, with a proven track record of driving profitability and market share. He joins from Saint-Gobain Building Distribution, where he was Commercial Director for Graham, Saint-Gobain’s £300 million national plumbing merchant. 

He brings a wealth of experience to IBMG, gained from leadership roles in procurement, category, merchandising, supply chain and pricing with Saint-Gobain and Jewson. In addition, Martin served on the management boards of Jewson and Graham brands.

Stables joins at a time of strategic change and focus, following IBMG’s merger with Grant & Stone. His experience of large integration and change management programmes will be invaluable as he brings together the commercial teams in each group to create a best-in-class commercial function for IBMG.

His remit is to optimise the overall trading performance of the Group by developing and implementing a best practice approach to the group’s category management, procurement, and pricing. In parallel, Stables will develop a supplier strategy to maximise collaboration with the Group’s suppliers and to capitalise on the opportunities offered by the new larger organisation.

Stables said: “I am delighted to be joining IBMG – it offers exactly the type of opportunity that motivates me. It is at a really exciting point in its development and is ready to capitalise on its numerous growth opportunities. We have ambitious goals to fulfil and IBMG is well structured, with strong investor support, exceptional trading brands, first-rate employees and a well-deserved reputation for outstanding service."

Nick House, IBMG’s Group Chief Executive, said: “Martin brings proven experience of delivering market share and best-in-class practices, which pair well with the expertise in our executive team. His knowledge and experience will be instrumental in helping us scale the business and generate further growth, to ensure that IBMG fulfils its ambitions.”