Introduction
The name Rob Keates may not ring a bell for most consumers, but within the UK’s cycling and motoring retail sector, he’s a highly influential figure. Over the past decade, he has held a series of major leadership roles – evolving from transformation consultant to senior retail executive — and has left a clear mark on Halfords and its specialist cycling arm, Tredz. This article explores his career journey, the strategic initiatives he led, his impact on Halfords’ shifting business model, and what his departure means for the company’s future.
Early Career & Background
Rob Keates began his career outside the retail sector, working in management consulting with firms such as Accenture and later Ernst & Young (EY), where he rose to the position of Director. Over roughly 14 years, he built deep expertise advising clients across financial services, technology, telecommunications, utilities, and major public-sector organisations including the NHS.
After his consulting tenure, Keates moved into the telecom retail industry. At Telefónica UK (O2), he held a series of senior roles that blended retail leadership, operations, and transformation. During his seven years with the company, he served as Director of Transformation, Head of Retail overseeing hundreds of stores, and Director of Trading for both consumer and SME markets.
This combination of strategic consulting experience and hands-on operational leadership would later make him exceptionally well-suited to guiding a large, complex retail and services group like Halfords.
Educational Background
Rob Keates laid the foundation for his career at Loughborough University, where he earned a BSc (Hons) in Management Science. This strong academic grounding in business analysis, strategy, and operational systems proved invaluable as he stepped into increasingly complex roles across multiple industries.
His public profiles – including his leadership biography at IVC Evidensia, consistently highlight this degree, emphasising how central his education has been in shaping his professional path. From his early consulting years at firms like Ernst & Young to his later senior roles in retail and operations, Keates’ academic background has been a steady thread connecting his strategic thinking with practical, results-driven execution.
Family Background
Outside of work, Rob Keates is known as a devoted family man. He lives in Solihull with his wife and their two teenage sons, Josh and Sam. Friends and family say he spends much of his free time supporting his boys’ interests, whether cheering them on at football matches or attending basketball practices. This glimpse into his personal life reveals a grounded, hands-on father who balances the demands of corporate leadership with a strong commitment to family and everyday involvement in his sons’ activities.
Rob Keates Halfords: Steering Tredz and Embracing Transformation
In June 2020, Rob Keates made a significant career move by joining Halfords as Managing Director of Tredz, the company’s performance-cycling business, while also taking on the role of Director of Transformation for the wider Halfords Group.
At the time, Tredz operated both online (via tredz.co.uk) and through a limited number of physical stores, offering over 500 cycling brands. Following the closure of other cycle-specific retail outlets, Tredz became a key pillar of Halfords’ cycling strategy.
Halfords’ leadership highlighted that Keates was brought in to leverage his “broad expertise in digital transformation, retail, customer experience, and sales.” His appointment signaled the company’s dual focus: strengthening its specialist cycling business while simultaneously reshaping operational and service delivery frameworks across the broader group.
Promotion to COO: Overseeing Retail, Garages & Operations
In September 2022, amid broader structural changes at Halfords, Rob Keates was promoted from Chief Transformation Officer to Chief Operating Officer (COO), stepping into the shoes of long-serving COO Andy Randall, who retired after an impressive 45-year career.
As COO, Keates assumed a significantly expanded portfolio. He oversaw Halfords’ retail stores, garage and automotive service operations — including car servicing and MOTs via Halfords Autocentres — as well as mobile fitting and service vans, “Mobile Expert” units, and contact centres and central operations. At the same time, he maintained his leadership of Tredz, Halfords’ performance-cycling business, skillfully integrating cycling retail, general retail, and automotive services under one operational umbrella.
This consolidation was a clear reflection of Halfords’ ambition to evolve into an integrated, service-led retail model, seamlessly combining motoring, cycling, parts, repairs, and customer support across multiple channels. Internal communications highlighted Keates as a central figure in driving the company’s transformation agenda, ensuring that Halfords remained agile and responsive to shifting consumer behaviors, economic pressures, and an increasingly volatile retail environment..
Achievements, Challenges & the Business Context
Operational consolidation: Under Keates’ leadership, Halfords unified its diverse revenue streams, including retail, garages, mobile services, and cycling, under a single management structure. This consolidation helped streamline operations, optimize costs, and create synergies across different parts of the business.
Strengthening cycling through Tredz: By focusing on Tredz as a specialist performance-cycling brand, Halfords secured a strong presence in a growing market segment, even as other cycle-specific retail formats were phased out. Keates’ guidance was central to this strategic focus.
Transformation mindset: Drawing on his experience in consulting and telecom retail, Keates brought a disciplined approach to transformation. He emphasized enhancing customer experience, improving supply-chain efficiency, and enforcing operational rigor throughout the organisation.
Challenges & Headwinds
However, Keates’ tenure also coincided with significant challenges for Halfords and the wider retail sector. In 2024, the company reportedly had to cut over £10 million from its full-year profit guidance, citing “weak customer confidence and unusually mild, wet weather,” which dampened footfall and demand, particularly in seasonal categories such as cycling and car-care products.
At the same time, the retail and motoring-services markets were undergoing structural shifts. Changing consumer habits, economic pressures, and rising inflation all placed strain on a business model dependent on discretionary spending, mobility services, and retail sales.
As a result, while Keates carried a broad operational and transformation mandate, his time at Halfords coincided with one of the most turbulent periods the retail sector has faced in recent years.
Departure from Halfords (2024) & What Comes Next
In May 2024, it was publicly announced that Rob Keates would be leaving Halfords after four years. Reports indicated that it was unclear whether his role would be directly replaced or absorbed into a broader organizational reshuffle.
By late 2024 and into 2025, Keates had resurfaced in a completely different sector: he became Chief Operating Officer of IVC Evidensia UK, a leading veterinary-care provider with clinics and practices across the country. According to IVC Evidensia’s website, he brings “over 25 years’ experience” and a passion for enhancing client experiences across multisite operations — demonstrating how he has leveraged his extensive background to transition smoothly between industries.
His move highlights a notable shift: from consumer-facing retail and motoring services to the healthcare sector, applying his operational and transformation expertise to a new type of service-focused business.
What His Halfords Tenure Reveals About Leadership in Modern Retail
The trajectory of Rob Keates’ career – at Halfords and beyond – offers several key insights into the demands of modern retail leadership:
Versatile experience matters: Keates’ journey, spanning consulting, telecom retail, and cycling and motoring retail, demonstrates the value of cross-sector experience. Rather than remaining in a single niche, his diverse background allowed him to adapt, drive transformation, and lead effectively across different business models.
Integration and agility: During his tenure, Halfords sought to integrate multiple verticals — retail, services, mobility, and cycling, reflecting a growing trend in brick-and-mortar retail. Having a leader capable of managing such complexity was essential to executing this vision.
The need for continuous transformation: The retail and automotive-services sectors are far from static. External factors such as weather, economic fluctuations, and consumer sentiment constantly impact performance. Effective leadership requires both resilience and the ability to pivot in response to change.
Talent mobility across sectors: Keates’ move into veterinary healthcare illustrates how skills developed in retail, including operations management, multi-site coordination, and customer-centric transformation, can be successfully applied in entirely different industries.
Conclusion
Rob Keates’ career, spanning consulting, telecoms, automotive-cycling retail, and now veterinary healthcare, highlights a modern corporate reality: successful leadership demands adaptability, cross-sector expertise, and a focus on transformation.
At Halfords, he guided ambitious consolidation, unifying cycling, motoring, retail, and services under one model. Despite challenges, he brought structure, experience, and a transformation mindset. His departure marks a turning point for Halfords, while his career stands as a strong example of versatile, operations-driven leadership.
