John Colley is the Executive Chairman and CEO of Majestic, the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer. John returned to Majestic in December 2019 and supported the retailer’s acquisition by US-based private equity firm Fortress Investment Group. He previously served as CEO of Majestic Retail between 2015 and 2017.

Since his return to the business, John has steered Majestic through the Covid-19 pandemic and back into sales and profit growth. His strategy has centred on opening new stores, driving customer service excellence, creating a multichannel model, and restoring Majestic’s reputation for quality, choice and value within its core wine ranges.

Majestic is also rapidly growing its Commercial division, which now supplies more than 3,000 restaurants, pubs, bars and events venues across the country. The progress made during John’s tenure earned him the Drinks Business Man of the Year award in 2021.

In April 2024, John led the acquisition of Vagabond Wines, giving Majestic a foothold in the hospitality sector and giving the retailer access to a younger demographic of wine consumers. The deal saved nine of Vagabond’s wine bars across London and Birmingham from closure and secured the jobs of 170 colleagues.

Prior to his time at Majestic, John spent almost two decades in senior roles at DIY giant Kingfisher, including those of Group Chief Trading Officer and Commercial and Marketing Director of B&Q. During his time as Commercial Director at Screwfix, John was a key figure in the early stages of the retailer’s multichannel expansion and pioneered its highly successful Trade Counter format. John also spent five years in the Netherlands as CEO of Praxis DIY and executive board member of Maxeda Group, owned by private equity group KKR.