Paul Roper, son of founder Brian Roper, has stepped down as managing director of Roper Rhodes. Leigh Leather (pictured), currently group sales director, will take over the role.
Mark Roper, Paul Roper’s brother, will remain as chairman.
Paul will stay in the business as a non-executive director and as a major shareholder, but will dedicate his time to the Roper Family Charitable Trust, which is a trust that helps charities and community organisations in the Bath and north-east Somerset region.
Paul Roper said: “It is of great comfort to me that my replacement is an internal candidate and his appointment ensures that the company will continue to be run with the same values and ethos that Mark Roper and I have tried to maintain.”
Leather has been with the company for seven years and has 25 years within the bathroom sector.
He started his career with Kohler Mira in 1994. He then moved over to Grohe UK as head of national accounts in 2005 and was promoted to sales director and then regional vice-president for sales and marketing of Grohe SEAPAC in 2006. In 2009, he rejoined Kohler Mira as business director before starting at Roper Rhodes in 2013.