Laura Wade-Gery will not return to her role as Marks & Spencer‘s multichannel executive director when her maternity leave finishes at the end of this month.
Once regarded as a potential future chief executive of the department store chain, Wade-Gery will also resign from the retailer‘s board with immediate effect.
M&S said the 51-year-old will be paid off with up to eight months of salary and benefits.
Helen Weir, the company‘s chief financial officer, will now maintain responsibility for M&S‘ ecommerce distribution, while retail director Sacha Berendji will be responsible for stores.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
M&S chair Robert Swannell said Wade-Gery was a “valued member of the board and instrumental in the improvement and modernisation” of the company‘s ecommerce and multichannel offerings.
Chief executive Steve Rowe agreed: “Laura has been a great colleague and has achieved much in her role heading our multichannel business.
“I am grateful to Laura for her contribution and she leaves M&S with my personal thanks and best wishes.”
Wade-Gery was initially meant to have returned to M&S in January this year, but she extended her maternity leave until September.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
