QVC Global Growth Drives New Europe Leadership Structure; Steve Hofmann Promoted to CEO of QVC Europe

WEST CHESTER, Pa., May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- QVC, a global leader in video and e-commerce retail, announced today the promotion of Steve Hofmann to CEO of QVC Europe, reporting to QVC President and CEO, Mike George.  In this newly created position, Hofmann will oversee QVC's European markets including the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy and accelerate growth opportunities throughout Europe. He maintains his current responsibility as CEO of QVC Italy and will continue to be based in Milan. Also announced today are the promotions of Gregg Bertoni to Chief Merchandising Officer, QVC Italy, and Paolo Penati to Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, QVC Italy.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120510/PH04431 )

"QVC is pursuing more global initiatives and we are evolving our leadership structure to meet the growing scale of our business," said QVC President and CEO Mike George. "Steve's commitment to excellence and innovation and his focus on building engaged and high-performing teams will be tremendous assets as he expands into this new leadership role."

Hofmann has led business development and QVC customer growth throughout Europe, most notably establishing QVC Italy, which he helped to successfully launch in Oct. 2010.   Under Hofmann's leadership, QVC Italy boasts an increasingly loyal customer base that rivals all QVC operations for its high repeat purchase rates and outstanding customer satisfaction.

In his new role, Hofmann will provide business oversight, coordination and support to each of QVC's European markets and best practice sharing among QVC's European, US and Asian teams. He will help lead business building initiatives, such as QVC's new Europe-wide technology platform, and will be responsible for pursuing new market expansion opportunities throughout Europe.

Hofmann first joined QVC as Director of Commerce of QVC UK in 2007 and was promoted to UK CEO in January 2008, before moving on to his current position as CEO of QVC Italy. Before joining QVC, Hofmann held leadership roles at Jupiter Shop Channel and Jupiter TV in Japan and with CNBC Asia.

QVC also announced the following promotions:

• Gregg Bertoni is promoted to Chief Merchandising Officer of QVC Italy. In his new role, Bertoni will be responsible for Marketing, TV Operations and TV Sales, in addition to his current responsibilities across Merchandising, Planning, Programming, e-commerce and Quality Assurance.   
• Paolo Penati is promoted to Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, QVC Italy. In his new role, Penati will help maintain QVC's focus on operational excellence, while also leading investment opportunities for long-term growth. Penati will be responsible for Call Center, Logistics and IT operations in Italy, in addition to his current responsibilities for QVC's Finance team.  

"QVC's global business is structured to drive local engagement in individual countries, supported by the power of our global infrastructure," said George.  "This new leadership embraces the best of local and global business. I'm confident that Steve, Paolo and Gregg will continue the great momentum we are enjoying in Italy, and throughout our global markets, and will help take QVC's business in Europe to new levels of success."

ABOUT QVC
QVC, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: LINTA), is the world's leading video and ecommerce retailer. QVC is committed to providing its customers with thousands of the most innovative and contemporary beauty, fashion, jewelry and home products. Its programming is distributed to approximately 195 million homes worldwide. The company's website, QVC.com, is ranked among the top general merchant Internet sites. With operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Italy, West Chester, Pa.-based QVC has shipped more than a billion packages in its 25-year history. QVC, Q, and the Q Ribbon Logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc.

SOURCE QVC, Inc.