Asos has snapped up former Blink Health executive Robert Birge for the newly created role of chief growth officer.

Birge, who will take up his new role on December 3 and will report to chief executive Nick Beighton, most recently acted as president of ecommerce at Blink Health, a position he held from October 2017 until April this year.

Robert Birge

Robert Birge

At Asos he will be tasked with “driving profitable growth and integrating the company’s marketing efforts with strategic planning, analytics and customer experience”, leading the 170-strong marketing division and 1,200-strong customer care operation respectively.

Birge is the first in a series of executive appointments Asos plans to make, including a chief strategy officer, chief people officer and chief commercial officer, which Beighton said last month were mostly “down to a shortlist”.

The appointments will sit alongside the existing executive team of Beighton, chief financial officer Mat Dunn, chief operating officer Mark Holland and chief information officer Cliff Cohen.

Prior to Blink Health, Birge held senior marketing roles at travel firms Lola and Kayak and global sports, fashion and media agency IMG.

Birge said: “I am incredibly excited to be joining Asos. It’s a world-class brand and recent infrastructure investments mean it is well placed to accelerate its global growth plans, and I can’t wait to join the team and play my part.”