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* Katie Bickerstaffe named chief strategy director
* She is former boss of SSE Energy, Dixons Carphone UK
* To report to under-pressure CEO Steve Rowe
(Adds detail, comment)
By James Davey
LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Marks & Spencer
non-executive director Katie Bickerstaffe is to shift to an
executive role at the British clothing and food retailer to
bolster its latest turnaround attempt, the company said on
Wednesday.
Bickerstaffe, a non-exec since 2018, will join the executive
team at one of Britain's best known retailers as chief strategy
and transformation director from April 27, working four days a
week and reporting to the group's chief executive Steve Rowe.
She will be accountable for developing and overseeing M&S's
strategic transformation programmes. She will lead the strategy
team, M&S Bank and energy teams and IT, serving on both the PLC
board and operating committee.
Bickerstaffe succeeds strategy director Melanie Smith, who
last year became CEO of Ocado Retail - the joint venture between
online grocer Ocado Group and M&S.
After more than a decade of false dawns, M&S set out on its
latest transformation plan shortly after retail veteran Archie
Norman became chairman in 2017 to work alongside Rowe, who has
been with the firm for 30 years and became the boss in 2016.
The plan suffered a setback last month when M&S reported a
disappointing Christmas trading update, hammering a share price
which is down 36% over the last year.
M&S is also currently without a permanent finance director
and is yet to name a start date for Richard Price, its new
clothing boss recruited from Tesco in
November.
Bickerstaffe is vastly experienced. She was previously
executive chair of energy provider SSE Energy Services and is a
former boss of the UK and Ireland division of electricals
retailer Dixons Carphone.
She has also worked for Kwik Save, PepsiCo ,
Unilever, Dyson and Somerfield.
"Her experience in leading roles at UK food and non-food
retailers and track record of delivering large-scale change will
be invaluable as we accelerate our transformation," said Rowe.
M&S said Rowe was instrumental in Bickerstaffe taking an
executive role to assist him.
But some observers said that given Bickerstaffe's track
record she should now be considered as a prime candidate to
succeed Rowe and become M&S's first female boss in the group's
136 year history.
"Let’s be honest - a chief strategy and transformation
officer is what the CEO’s day job is," said one former M&S
director.
"I’m sure this is as overt as Archie can be in signposting
what must be coming."
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Michael Holden and Jane
Merriman)
