QVC brings in old boss and digital-minded board members as it comes out of bankruptcy

QVC Group Inc. has replaced chief executive David Rawlinson, bringing back predecessor Mike George as interim boss as the West Chester-based remote-shopping pioneer comes out of bankruptcy and charts a future.

The company also has named new directors with long retail and digital experience, replacing those who oversaw the company under billionaire media investor John Malone.

With over 1,000 employees at its broadcasting campus, once one of Chester County’s top tourism draws, QVC has struggled with the decline of television and the fragmentation of digital media.

George said in a statement that he is excited to reconnect with company veterans and to work with the new board. He promised “innovative shopping experiences” and better investor returns during the search for his permanent replacement.

Having cut its crushing debt load in its bankruptcy reorganization, QVC still faces the challenge of adding young shoppers at a time when retailing has spread across social media platforms, streaming apps, and global e-commerce sites.

» READ MORE: Meet the QVC fans who have kept the shopping network alive

QVC said it has emerged from Chapter 11 after cutting its debt load by over $5 billion and gaining access to $600 million in new credit.

The stock will re-list on Nasdaq under trading symbol QVCG, replacing pre-bankruptcy shares that traded below $1 just before the bankruptcy.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in April after years of losses and cost cuts. Those included the shutdown of rival-turned-affiliate HSN’s Florida campus last year. The companies had merged in 2017.

The new financing is provided by hedge funds specializing in corporate turnarounds, led by Connecticut-based Strategic Value Partners LLC, whose past focus includes natural gas and building materials companies and the 2022 relaunch of airline Aeromexico and Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital, a unit of Canada-based Brookfield Corp.

Pennsylvania’s school pension fund, PSERS, is an investor in Oaktree. The New Jersey Division of Investment, which manages state, school and local-government worker pension funds, is an investor in Strategic Value Partners.

In a parting statement, Rawlinson praised “the resilience, commitment and execution our teams have demonstrated,” along with customers and investors. He noted QVC was “a TikTok Shop Seller of the Year for 2025″ and has been growing its streaming-media business rapidly. He added that it’s the “right time” for him to move on, and “I can think of no one better qualified” than George to take over.

» READ MORE: QVC’s on-air hosts aim to unionize as bankruptcy case continues

George departed after initiatives including his acquisition of Seattle online-shopping network Zulily failed to generate profits. Rawlinson shut the division in 2023.

A fatal fire at QVC’s main warehouse in North Carolina during the 2021 Christmas season worsened COVID-era shipping delays early in Rawlinson’s tenure, making it tougher to pay down debt and endure the costs of new programs.

George is a past chairman of the National Retail Federation, currently chairs the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and is a board member at Autozone and Ralph Lauren. He was an executive at Dell Computer and McKinsey & Co. before joining QVC, and will chair the new board.

Gone from that board are longtime allies of media billionaire John Malone, who invested in QVC in the 1990s, bought control of the company from Comcast in 2003, and had served as chairman. He left the board last year. His son Evan, a Philadelphia entrepreneur, and other longtime QVC board members have been replaced.

Besides George, the new QVC board members are: