M&S picks CFO from supplier as executive suite's door turns

[LONDON] Marks & Spencer Group Plc named a new chief financial officer from food supplier Greencore Group Plc, continuing a reshuffling of the troubled UK retailer's executive ranks.

The new CFO, Eoin Tonge, will succeed Humphrey Singer, who stepped down in September. Several other key executives have departed as Chairman Archie Norman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Rowe try to turn around M&S.

The shares rose as much as 0.7 per cent early Tuesday in London. They've fallen 34 per cent over the past 12 months.

The storied retailer has been shutting stores as its clothing business keeps losing ground, with the grocery arm performing better.

Last year M&S lost the head of its clothing and home business, Jill McDonald, who left after failing to turn around the struggling division. She was the retailer's fourth clothing boss in a decade. Stuart Machin, the head of the food arm, joined nearly two years ago and has since carried out a broad review of the unit.

Last week M&S recruited from its own board, hiring non-executive director Katie Bickerstaffe as its chief strategy and transformation director. She will oversee M&S's latest turnaround programme, in which the retailer is seeking to reverse more than a decade of decline.

M&S has also been recruiting other senior managers, most recently poaching Craig Lovelace from retailer N Brown Group Plc to become the finance director for the food division. Helen Milford will join from catalogue retailer Argos and has been appointed retail director.

An interim financial chief, David Surdeau, who stepped in when Mr Singer departed, will continue in that role until Mr Tonge joins M&S in June. Singer was in the role for only a little more than a year.

BLOOMBERG