John Lewis has been dealt a blow just a few weeks before the crucial Christmas trading period after Helen Weir, its finance director, quit to join rival Marks and Spencer.
M&S said on Monday that Ms Weir, 52, will succeed Alan Stewart, who left the high street retailer in July to join Tesco as chief finance officer. John Lewis said Ms Weir was expected to work her six-month notice period and her departure date would be announced in due course. A process to appoint her successor would begin immediately, the retailer said.
Ms Weir will be paid a basic salary of £590,000 a year. She will also receive a one-off payment of £188,500 to compensate her for the difference between M&S’s pension arrangements and those of the John Lewis Partnership, which has a final salary pension scheme. M&S may also compensate Ms Weir for the loss of her bonus entitlement at the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership.
Bethany Hocking, an analyst at Berenberg, described the appointment as a “strong hire”. “Given John Lewis host results meetings . . . for the sellside [analysts] Ms Weir is relatively well-known to the City,” she added.
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Her appointment adds another high-profile female executive to M&S’s board, as it strives to turn round its womenswear business, and also injects another potential candidate in the race to succeed Marc Bolland as chief executive.
Laura Wade-Gery, M&S’s head of online, John Dixon, who leads clothing and homewares, and Steve Rowe, head of food, are widely seen as the internal successors to eventually succeed Mr Bolland, who will have served five years as chief executive of M&S in May.
Ms Weir, who joined the John Lewis Partnership in March 2012, is the former finance director and head of retail banking at Lloyds Banking Group. At the bank, she was credited with developing a strong Lloyds TSB brand and, later, leading the push into some innovative digital banking services.
While respected internally at Lloyds – Ms Weir was once considered a candidate for the bank’s top job – she could not shake off her association with the former management team that led to the disastrous acquisition of HBOS.
She was one of the first Lloyds Banking Group executives to leave after the appointment of António Horta-Osório as chief executive in March 2011. She also encountered controversy in 2003 when, as finance director of Kingfisher, she received a £330,000 relocation allowance for moving 40 miles.
Mr Bolland said: “We are delighted to be appointing Helen as CFO. She is extremely well qualified, and brings a wealth of relevant financial, retail and consumer experience.”
Date: November 17, 2014