Marks & Spencer Group Plc
MKS:LN
Latest Coverage
Overview
Company Profile
Marks & Spencer, the high street retail chain, first took formation as a retail venture in 1894, becoming a listed company in 1926. The group generates almost all of its revenue from UK clothing and food sales. Marks has a chain of some 400 stores throughout the UK with a further 150 overseas.
Classification
Financials
News & Media
Corporate
Board of Directors
Robert Swannell
Chairman
Robert Swannell was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Marks & Spencer in October 2010 and became Chairman in January 2011. Until 2010, Robert spent over 30 years in investment banking with Schroders/Citigroup. He was formerly Vice-Chairman of Citi Europe and Chairman of Citi’s European Investment Bank. Robert was Senior Independent Director of both The British Land Company plc (NED 1999-2010) and of 3i Group plc (NED, 2006-2010). Robert was Chairman of HMV Group plc from February 2009 until March 2011. He was also a Member of the Governing Body of Rugby School from 2004 to 2009 and Chairman from 2009 to 2014. Robert’s regulatory and government department experience includes the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the FSA, the Takeover Panel Appeal Board and the Industrial Development Advisory Board of BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills). Robert was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the advisory board of the Shareholder Executive Board in November 2013 and in May 2014 appointed Chairman, with effect from September 2014. He is an Advisory Board Member of The Sutton Trust, a founder and Trustee of the SpringBoard Boarding Bursary Foundation and a Trustee of the Kew Foundation. Robert is a member of the Remuneration Committee and Chairman of the Nomination Committee.
Marc Bolland
Chief Executive
Marc Bolland was appointed in May 2010. He has extensive international and retail experience gained from over 25 years in the industry. Marc began his career at Heineken NV in The Netherlands in 1987, occupying several Marketing and Sales management roles. In 1995 he was appointed Managing Director for Heineken in Slovakia, becoming Managing Director for Heineken Export Worldwide in 1999. Marc was then appointed to the Board of Heineken NV in 2001 with responsibility for Western Europe, US, Latin America, Northern Africa and Global Marketing. In 2005 he became Chief Operating Officer. He joined Morrisons in September 2006 as Chief Executive Officer, where he successfully led the development and implementation of its long-term strategy. Marc is currently non-executive Director of The Coca-Cola Company, Honorary Vice President of UNICEF UK, and Director of the Consumer Goods Forum. He has previously held non-executive roles at Manpower Inc US (2004-2014), Hotel de I’Europe, The Netherlands (2003-2006) and Quilmes, Argentina (2001-2003).
Helen Weir
Chief Finance Officer
Helen joined Marks & Spencer as CFO on 1st April 2015. She was most recently Finance Director of the John Lewis Partnership. Prior to JLP, Helen worked at Lloyds Banking Group, firstly as Group Finance Director (2004-2008) and subsequently as Group Executive Director - Retail (2008-2011). From 2000 until 2004, Helen was Group Finance Director of Kingfisher plc, and was prior to that Finance Director of B&Q. She spent her early career at Unilever and McKinsey & Co. Helen joined the SAB Miller Board as a Non-Executive Director in 2011 and was previously a Non-Executive Director of Royal Mail Holdings. She is also an Independent Non-Executive Director at the RFU and a Trustee of Marie Curie Cancer Care. Helen is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and was previously a member of the Accounting Standards Board.
Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne
Executive Director, Marketing & International
Patrick was appointed to the Board in July 2013, and assumed additional responsibility for our International business in July 2014. Patrick has more than 25 years of extensive experience in the international branded consumer goods industry, in London, Paris and New York. He has strong experience in developing and marketing brands globally, and a broad knowledge of enhancing business performance and customer experience in a branded retail environment. He joined the Estée Lauder Companies in 1989 as Vice President and General Manager, Aramis International, before running Estée Lauder’s worldwide Travel Retailing business. Between 1998 and 2008 Patrick was a member of Estée Lauder’s Executive Committee, where he served as President of International, directing the expansion of all Estée Lauder company brands across 130 countries. Most recently Patrick was Group President of the Estée Lauder companies, where he had worldwide P&L responsibilities for some of the company’s largest brands. He stepped down from Estée Lauder in 2008 to pursue new opportunities in the new technologies field. Patrick sits on the Board of Brown-Forman Inc, a global spirits company and on the Board of Collectively.org, a digital platform designed to inspire the millenials towards sustainable living.
Steve Rowe
Executive Director, General Merchandise
Steve was appointed to the Board in October 2012 as Executive Director of Food. He was appointed Executive Director of General Merchandise on 16 July 2015. He joined Marks & Spencer in 1989 where he progressed in a variety of roles within store management. He joined Head Office in 1992 as a Merchandiser for Menswear, working across all areas of the Group. In 1998 he became Category Manager in the Furniture Department, leading the team developing the Home Growth Strategy. Steve was appointed Head of Home categories in 2003 going on to become Director of Home in 2004. Between 2004 and 2008 Steve also assumed responsibility for Beauty and New Business Development. He was appointed Director of Retail and a member of the Executive Committee in March 2008 becoming Director of Retail and E-commerce in 2009, reverting to Director of Retail in 2011, before being appointed as Executive Director, Food in October 2012. Under his leadership, the Food division has continued to achieved strong growth, broadened its range of quality and innovative products, and maintained high customer satisfaction ratings. Steve was a Director on the Strategic Board of The New West End Company from 2008 to 2014.
Laura Wade-Gery
Executive Director, Multi-channel
Laura joined the Board in July 2011. In July 2014, Laura assumed additional responsibility for UK retail as part of M&S’s multi-channel strategy. She was previously at Tesco plc where she held a variety of senior roles from 1997 to 2011 including Targeted Marketing Director responsible for Tesco Clubcard, and Group Strategy Director. Laura brings considerable retail and consumer experience, including significant e-commerce knowledge as Chief Executive Officer of Tesco.com and Tesco Direct for over 8 years. She was appointed a director of Royal Opera House Covent Garden Limited in March 2012 and was a non-executive director of Trinity Mirror plc until May 2012. Prior to joining Tesco Laura held various roles at Gemini Consulting and Kleinwort Benson. Laura is a non-executive director of British Land.
Vindi Banga
Senior Independent Director
A non-executive director since September 2011, Vindi was appointed Senior Independent Director in March 2015. Vindi has extensive consumer brand knowledge and global business experience, plus in-depth knowledge of both UK and International trade and industry. Vindi spent 33 years at Unilever plc, where he held a number of senior positions including President of the Global Foods, Home and Personal Care businesses, and was a member of the Unilever Executive Board. At Unilever, he led the creation of a One Unilever Global Foods, Home & Personal Care Global Category Organisation. Vindi is Partner at private equity investment firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, non-executive director of Thomson Reuters, Chairman of the Mauser Group, Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) Economic Growth Board, non-executive director of GSK (from 1 September 2015), and sits on the Governing Board of the Indian School of Business. In 2010, Vindi was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours. Vindi is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee.
Alison Brittain
Non-Executive Director
Alison was appointed on 1 January 2014. She brings significant financial and commercial experience to the M&S Board, combined with considerable knowledge of running customer facing retail branch networks. Alison is Group Director of Lloyds Banking Group plc’s Retail Division, with responsibility for the Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland retail branch networks, remote & intermediary channels and products, in addition to the Retail Business Banking and UK Wealth businesses. Alison is the Chair of the FCA’s Practitioner Panel. Prior to joining Lloyds, Alison was Executive Director for Retail Distribution and a Board Director at Santander UK plc. She previously worked at Barclays for almost twenty years and held various senior roles, including Director of Barclays and Woolwich Retail Networks and Managing Director of Barclays Small Business Banking. Alison attended university in Scotland and the USA and has an MBA from Cambridge University’s Judge Institute. Alison is a member of the Nomination Committee and the Audit Committee.
Miranda Curtis
Non-Executive Director
Miranda was appointed in February 2012, and has substantial experience of the international consumer and technology sectors, and extensive knowledge of the global broadband cable industry. In her 20-year career with Liberty she has led the company’s investments in digital distribution and content operations across Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific, most notably in Japan, where she led the creation and development of the Jupiter Telecommunications group of companies. Having successfully negotiated the multi-billion dollar sale of Liberty\'s Japanese interests in early 2010, Miranda retired from her executive role with the company and was invited to join the Board of Liberty Global plc as a non-executive Director. Miranda is also Chairman of Waterstones, and was a non-executive director of National Express Group plc until May 2012. Miranda also serves on the boards of the Institute for Government, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and is Chair of the leading African girls’ education charity, Camfed. Miranda is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.
Andy Halford
Non-Executive Director
Andy Halford was appointed in January 2013. He has a strong finance background gained from CFO positions in global listed companies. Andy is Group Finance Director of Standard Chartered plc, which he joined in July 2014 after 15 years at Vodafone Group plc, 9 of which were spent as Chief Financial Officer. Along with his financial knowledge, Andy brings to the Board valuable international, consumer and digital experience. Andy joined Vodafone in 1999 as Financial Director for Vodafone Limited, the UK operating company, and in 2001 became Financial Director for Vodafone\'s Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa Region. From 2002 to 2005 he was Chief Financial Officer of Verizon Wireless in the US and a member of the Board of Representatives of the Verizon Wireless partnership until 2013. Prior to joining Vodafone he was Group Finance Director at East Midlands Electricity plc. Andy is a former Chairman of The Hundred Group of Finance Directors in the UK, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and a member of the Business Forum on Tax and Competitiveness. Andy is a member of the Nomination Committee and Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Martha Lane Fox
Non-Executive Director
Martha was appointed in June 2007, and brings significant experience from the successful operation of online and customer facing businesses. Martha is founder and Chairman of Lucky Voice and of her own grant giving foundation, Antigone. She co-founded Europe’s largest travel and leisure website lastminute.com in 1998, taking the company public in March 2000, remaining on the Board until the company was purchased by Sabre Holdings in 2005. Martha is currently chair of Go On UK, a coalition of public and private sector partners that are helping millions more people and organisations online. Her other roles include Chancellor of the Open University, MakieLab, Founders Forum for Good and the Government’s Digital Service Advisory Board, co-founder and chair of Lucky Voice, non-executive director of MyDeco.com and the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and patron of AbilityNet, Reprieve, Camfed and Just for Kids Law. Martha was awarded a CBE and appointed a crossbench peer in the House of Lords in March 2013, and was the UK\'s Digital Champion until 2013. Martha is a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees
Richard Solomons
Non-Executive Director
Richard was appointed in April 2015, and brings strong consumer experience and considerable global knowledge to the M&S board. He is Chief Executive Officer of IHG, a global organisation with a broad portfolio of brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,800 hotels (710,000 guest rooms) in nearly 100 countries. Over 350,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices worldwide. Prior to his appointment as CEO in July 2011, Richard served as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Commercial Development at IHG. Richard first joined Bass PLC (later Six Continents PLC), the company from which IHG emerged, in June 1992. He subsequently held a number of senior roles in the business including Chief Operating Officer of the Americas Hotels division, before being appointed Finance Director of the company in March 2003. In 2008 he also served as Interim President of IHG\'s Americas business. Prior to joining IHG Richard worked in Investment banking for seven years with Hill Samuel Bank, based in New York and London. He is a Governor of the Aviation Travel Industry Group of the World Economic Forum and a member of both the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council and of the Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council (IREFAC). Richard is a member of the Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Amanda Mellor
Group Secretary and Head of Corporate Governance
Appointed in July 2009. Amanda joined M&S in 2004 as Head of Investor Relations. She is a non-executive director of Kier Group plc. She spent her early career in investment management at James Capel before becoming a Director within its Corporate Finance team. She then worked at Robert Fleming, Investment Banking prior to joining The Burton Group as Director of Corporate Relations and Investor Relations. She remained with Arcadia Group post the Burton Group demerger before joining US based Infonet Service Corporation. Prior to joining M&S she worked for corporate communications consultancy Holloway & Associates. She was accredited as a Legal Mediator in 2002.