M&S chief Steve Rowe to step down in May after four decades with retailer

Marks & Spencer said on Thursday its chief executive Steve Rowe would stand down after it reports annual results on May 25.

M&S said Rowe will be succeeded by two co-CEOs - Stuart Machin and Katie Bickerstaffe, who are currently M&S's joint chief operating officers.

Rowe has been serving as the chief executive since April 2016, overseeing a turnaround in the business he first joined in 1983, working at the Croydon store.

In 1985, he moved to store management at Topshop before rejoining M&S in 1989, and since then his career spanned every aspect of M&S, having progressed through store management and buying and merchandising roles to be appointed director of home and new business in 2004 and director of retail and a member of the executive committee in march 2008. He was appointed to the board in October 2012 as executive director of food before becoming executive director of general merchandise in July 2015.

Machin will succeed Rowe as chief executive, with the responsibility for day-to-day leadership of the business and the Executive Committee. He will continue to have oversight of his current portfolio of responsibilities, which includes the leadership of food business, as well as operations, property, store development and technology. He will also take on responsibility for HR and corporate communications.

Bickerstaffe will become co-chief executive with a particular focus on driving the global omnichannel, digital & data future for the business. She will retain her existing portfolio including responsibility for clothing & home, MS2, international and financial services.

Eoin Tonge will take on the role of chief strategy and finance officer, set to play an enhanced role in leading the future development of the business, in addition to his current responsibilities.

“The appointments we are making today bring together a very strong leadership team to take the business into the next stage of its transformation,” Archie Norman, chairman of M&S, commented.

“Both Stuart and Katie are outstanding high impact leaders with very strong track records and experience of leading businesses through transformative change. With Eoin, they make a very powerful leadership team able to span the full breadth of our businesses.

“Given the very strong recent progress we have made, keeping up the pace and momentum is critical. We are delighted to have brought together three exceptional individuals who, with the support of the executive committee, will provide vision, energy and pace for this next phase.”