There was a genuine intake of breath last week when it was announced that聽Steve Caunce was stepping down as CEO of online retail AO World聽and founder John Roberts was replacing him.
The two mates had become multi-millionaires when the business floated in 2014 and found themselves the subject of a tsunami of public interest.
Roberts tweeted soon after the announcement: 鈥淒elighted to be back as CEO of @ao. And huge thanks to Steve Caunce, who鈥檒l continue to advise the business after a well-earned break.鈥� #aoletsgo
The tweet summed up why now is the perfect moment for Roberts to resume the controls of the business he set up on the back of a 拢1 bet with a mate and why now is an opportune time for cricket-loving Caunce, who has just celebrated his 50th birthday, to step out of the limelight.
At the outset I should say that while I鈥檝e interviewed Roberts on a number of occasions my only real dealings with Caunce have been as opponents on the cricket field, where he鈥檚 a reliable but not particularly flashy batsman.
His passion for grassroots cricket is genuine and it鈥檚 no surprise that the Lancashire club he鈥檚 involved with has a thriving junior division.
On the field he鈥檚 not particularly outspoken and in the statement last week we was credited for building the foundations of AO World since assuming the role of CEO two years ago.
Under his watch the listed company has strengthened its senior management team and overseen rapid expansion into Europe, which hasn鈥檛 been without its challenges.
Roberts is the opposite of Caunce. The last time I interviewed him was 18 months ago at Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham鈥檚 digital summit and he was in a bullish mood.
Roberts鈥� first job was as a waiter at the Last Drop Hotel in Bolton and he鈥檚 a great speaker.
The company鈥檚 stated ambition is to be the No 1 white good website in Germany and Holland and has similarly ambitious plans for France, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic.
It鈥檚 a million miles away from the conversation he had with a mate in a pub in 1998/99 about the internet that sparked the AO story.
鈥淗e was saying it was a thing to search for information and I was saying 鈥業 reckon we can flog stuff on that鈥�,鈥� recalled Roberts. 鈥淗e said I was talking rubbish and this conversation was going on forever.
鈥淲e used to have these honorary bets of 拢1 so he bet me 拢1 that I wouldn鈥檛 give up my job and get on with it and get it started.鈥�
The rest, as they say, is history. When the company floated in 2014 the business was valued at 拢1.2bn. At the time the initial share price was 285p. It鈥檚 now at 114p.
Roberts has been frustrated at how some aspects of the media have reported AO鈥檚 story compared to the way the US media would cover the same story.
鈥淔rom a press coverage perspective we talk about 鈥榠t鈥檚 not making any money yet,鈥� he said in 2017. 鈥淲hereas in the US they鈥檒l celebrate the progress they鈥檝e made. They have a lot more blind faith than we do.鈥�
Roberts has no regrets about flotation and says he would do it all again.
鈥淚t gave us the money to go and expand our business into new categories, to new territories, to launch our business into Germany and the Netherlands,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e could not have done that if we鈥檇 not raised the capital.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 set the price of the business on the market. Very experienced investors do that. It was 11 times over-subscribed. Our original investors might think they got a raw deal on that because we probably could have got them more.
鈥淭hen the focus becomes 鈥榟ow much you made out of it?鈥� and not 鈥榳hat can it do and what it can help you build?鈥� Would we do it again? Yes but I would have probably got a slightly bigger flak jacket.鈥�
Roberts has a reputation for his attention to details and reportedly made 2am trips to AO鈥檚 Croydon depot to see the 鈥榰nsexy鈥� delivery side of the business. He鈥檚 also responded to complaints from customers personally.
For Roberts business is pretty simple. Customers want the best and most convenient service at the best price. If something goes wrong they expect to be looked after.
In a bid to boost brand awareness AO sponsored the 2017 series of Britain鈥檚 Got Talent and Roberts got a name check from Simon Cowell in the final on live TV 鈥� although Roberts himself missed the moment.
Now his name has been called again after Caunce鈥檚 decision to step back as CEO. Roberts says the biggest opportunity comes from raising AO World鈥檚 brand awareness and gaining more market share 鈥� which means now is the perfect time for him to become the CEO.