// M&S finance chief Humphrey Singer resigns after 14 months
// Singer’s departure comes just 2 months after clothing chief Jill McDonald was ousted
Marks & Spencer has revealed its finance chief Humphrey Singer is stepping down after just over a year in the role.
Singer joined the bellwether retailer in July 2018, and his departure comes just two months after the retailer’s clothing & home chief Jill McDonald was ousted.
In a statement on Saturday morning, M&S told Sky News that Singer had “decided to leave the business and a succession process is now under way”.
Singer described M&S as “a brilliant business and a much-loved brand for our colleagues and our customers”.
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“The transformation taking place is of a scale, depth and pace not seen before at the company,” Singer said.
“After 18 months of working with Steve to lead the transformation strategy and rebuild the finance function I have decided that now is the right time to move on.”
He was previously the group finance director of Dixons Carphone and has also held senior finance roles at Cadbury Schweppes and Coca-Cola Enterprises UK.
Although he referenced an 18-month career at M&S, his recruitment was announced in January last year and he only took up the role as Helen Weir’s successor in the following July.
In Saturday’s statement, Rowe added that Singer had been “a huge asset to the business”.
“He has helped to establish the foundations of our transformation with a stronger balance sheet, robust financial controls and a much keener focus on reducing our cost base,” Rowe said.
Sources told Sky News that M&S had already held talks with a number of possible successors.
Singer’s resignation has added to M&S’s woes following its drop out of the FTSE 100 earlier this month – which illustrated its declining fortunes.
The retailer now has a market value of less than £4 billion, having seen its shares plunge by close to 30 per cent over the last year.
M&S is not due to update the City on its trading performance again until November, when it reports half-year results.
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