Former Asda chief Roger Burnley is set to join the board of Marks & Spencer.
From 1 December, he will take on the role of a non-executive director at the high street staple, shareholders were told on Thursday.
Yorkshire-based Mr Burnley, a seasoned retail professional, led rival Asda from 2017 until 2021, departing the company after its ÂŁ6.8 billion acquisition by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital.
Prior to his stint at Asda, he served as retail operations director at Sainsbury’s and currently holds a non-executive director position at Pets at Home. Mr Burnley originally comes from Dewsbury and is a lifelong Huddersfield Town fan.
He is the latest supermarket heavyweight to join M&S , following the departure of former Sainsbury’s chief Justin King earlier this year after some six years.
This latest appointment comes after a challenging year for Marks & Spencer, which suffered a significant cyber attack that resulted in a six-week shutdown of online sales.
The company estimates the attack has cost them around ÂŁ300 million.
On his appointment, Mr Burnley said: “M&S is a much-loved brand which I have always admired as setting the standard in UK retail, and it is a privilege to be joining such an engaged board.
“Much progress has been made through the reshaping for growth strategy, but there remains so much opportunity, and I am looking forward to supporting the leadership team to capitalise on that in the years ahead.”
Archie Norman, the chairman of M&S, said: “Roger brings extensive experience in the food retail industry and supply chain transformation which will be invaluable as we enter the next phase of our plan to reshape M&S for growth.”
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