// Danielle Papagapiou joins M&S to take on newly-created role of head of loyalty
// She will report directly to chief digital and data director Jeremy Pee
// Her appointment comes as M&S increasingly shifts its attention to digital as part of a turnaround scheme
Marks & Spencer has hired Tesco’s former Clubcard boss Danielle Papagapiou has part of a drive to ramp up its digital capabilities and expand its data teams.
Papagapiou has joined M&S to take on the newly-created head of loyalty role, where she will develop M&S’s Sparks loyalty scheme through customer data to enhance shopping experiences and improve personalisation.
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Her appointment comes as M&S increasingly shifts its attention to digital as part of chief executive Steve Rowe’s turnaround scheme.
Papagapiou will report directly to M&S chief digital and data director Jeremy Pee, who was appointed to the role a year ago.
The bellwether retailer also hired former Big 4 executive Andrew Mann as its new head of insight and customer loyalty earlier this year, and is reportedly looking to embed “the use of data and technology as the norm”
In addition, M&S recently struck an online delivery deal with Ocado to capitalise on its popular food division.
“These changes will enable our digital and data function to become a centre of excellence, help our business grow and unlock the power of data, so we make better customer decisions and deliver a seamless experience for our customers,” an M&S spokesperson told Retail Gazette.
“This is at the heart of our strategy to become a ‘digital first’ retailer and is critical if we are going to win in the retail market today – and in the future.”
Papagapiou spent 15 years at Tesco, with the final two of those years as the head of its Clubcard loyalty scheme.
Her most recent role before M&S was customer director at Vision Express.
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