// M&S hires Jeremy Townsend as interim chief financial officer
// Eoin Tonge is set to step down from the board on December 9
Marks & Spencer has appointed an interim chief financial officer as Eoin Tonge prepares to exit the company.
Jeremy Townsend will join M&S on November 22 and report back to chief executive Stuart Machin.
He has held senior financial and non-executive roles across several public companies, most recently Rentokil Initial.
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Tonge is set to step down from the board on December 9 and exit the company on January 19, ensuring a thorough handover to Townsend.
Machin said: “Over the last three years we have built a strong finance team, and Jeremy will be an excellent addition, bringing with him a wealth of financial leadership experience, as we accelerate our plans to reshape M&S for growth.”
Machin recently revealed that he remains confident about this year’s Christmas despite M&S profits slumping.
He said momentum is building across the business as Christmas trading starts in earnest and sales are increasing in food, and crucially in its struggling clothing & home division.
In fact, over the last half the retailer managed to gain clothing market share for the first time since 2012.
