Dixons Retail boss John Browett is to join Apple in April as senior vice-president of retail. He will report directly to Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

“Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” Mr Cook said. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.”

Mr Browett (pictured) will step down from the Dixons Retail Board on February 20 and will leave the company on April 20 following a handover period.

He has headed Dixons Retail since 2007 following a series of executive roles at Tesco, including that of chief executive of Tesco.com. Earlier in his career, he advised retail and consumer goods clients at Boston Consulting Group.

Succeeding him as group chief executive will be current group operations director Sebastian James who joined the company in 2008. He has worked closely with Mr Browett and played a leading role in delivering the renewal and transformation of the UK and Ireland business.

Before joining Dixons Retail he held a number of chief executive roles for private-equity backed ventures. He was also strategy director at Mothercare and worked for Boston Consulting Group.

Katie Bickerstaffe has been appointed to the new role of chief executive for the UK and Ireland and will also join the group board on February 20. She joined Dixons Retail in 2008 as group people, marketing and property director and had particular responsibility for the launch of Knowhow, the store portfolio strategy, marketing, customer relationship management and human resources.

Before joining Dixons Retail, Ms Bickerstaffe was managing director of Kwik Save and group retail director and group HR director of Somerfield.