Marks and Spencer has named Jeremy Townsend as its interim chief financial officer, as Eoin Tonge prepares to leave the grocer.
Townsend will join the retailer on 22 November and report back to CEO Stuart Machin. Most recently, he was the former CFO of Rentokil, and has held senior positions across many public companies.
Tonge is set to step down from the board of the company on 9 December and exit early next year, ensuring a thorough handover to Townsend.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
“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 said.
The news comes as the retailer announced food sales up are up by more than 5% as group half-year profits plummet by nearly a quarter, with rising costs offsetting otherwise strong sales growth.
The high street giant – which recently announced it would be focusing on its Simply Food business and opening 104 new Food stores in the next five years – also warned of tougher trading ahead despite reporting “robust” sales across its food, clothing and home categories.
