M&S recruits new finance chief

TWO of Britain's leading but troubled retailers plugged major gaps in their boardrooms today with the appointment of new finance chiefs. But another, Boots, confirmed the departure of its finance director Howard Dodd and has started the search for a replacement.

Marks & Spencer has poached the highly regarded Ian Dyson, 42, from The Rank Group, where he has been finance director for five years.

He has been lured to M&S with a basic salary of £420,000 a year and the grant of shares worth £840,000. He will have to hold on to these for three years.

M&S chief executive Stuart Rose said: 'Ian comes from a highly competitive sector, which has seen enormous change in recent years. His track record at Rank has demonstrated his ability to deliver in that environment and his experience in restructuring businesses will be important in the rebuilding of Marks & Spencer. He is young and energetic, and with this appointment we are building the team for the long-term.'

Dyson's starting date has still to be agreed. He replaces 20-year M&S veteran Alison Reed, who was one of the few female finance chiefs of a FTSE company. She is leaving at the end of April, one of a series of boardroom departures under the Rose regime.

Meanwhile, the equally troubled supermarkets group, Sainsbury's, has recruited 38-year-old Darren Shapland, who currently has the same role at Lord Harris's Carpetright group. He will be paid £400,000 a year and join the group's bonus scheme and share option plans.

A former finance director of Superdrug, Shapland replaces Roger Matthews, who is leaving the supermarkets group after its full-year figures in May.