John Lewis has appointed M&S’ former marketing director Anna Braithwaite as its new chief customer officer.
Braithwaite will join the department store chain on 1 October following the completion on a non-compete period, The Times reported.
She will oversee the retailer’s marketing and customer experience across all of its channels, as well as be tasked with reviving the brand’s core promise of quality, value and service.
Braithwaite has spent the last four years at M&S as its marketing director and played a key role in helping to broaden the retailer’s appeal to younger and style-conscious shoppers.
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Prior to M&S, she worked at Tesco, Hobbs and Jacques Vert Group. Braithwaite spent the first 12 years of her career at John Lewis, working her way from the retailer’s graduate scheme.
Her appointment comes as the partnership has also quietly revamped its senior executive director leadership titles in favour of industry-standard managing director titles.
Braithwaite said she was “incredibly excited to be joining at such a pivotal time, following the return of a re-energised Never Knowingly Undersold”.
The retailer’s managing director Peter Ruis added: “I’m thrilled that Anna is returning to John Lewis. Her understanding of the John Lewis brand and her laser focus on the needs of customers makes her the ideal person to lead our customer and marketing strategy. I know that Anna will build on the John Lewis experience that our customers know and love.”
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