Stuart Machin

Last updated

Stuart Machin
Born1970 (age 54–55) [1]
NationalityBritish
TitleChief Executive, Marks & Spencer
TermMay 2022-
Predecessor Steve Rowe
Board member ofOcado Retail Limited

Stuart Machin (born 1970) is a British business executive and the chief executive (CEO) of Marks & Spencer. He became CEO on 25 May 2022 when Steve Rowe stepped down.

Contents

Education

Machin joined the retail management scheme at Sainsbury's when he was 18. In 2013, he attended the Harvard Business School advanced management program (AMP). [2] [ non-primary source needed ]

Career

Machin started his career in retailing as a teenage shelf stacker at a Sainsbury's Savacentre in Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre outside Gillingham, Kent. [3] He worked for Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda in increasingly senior roles, followed by ten years in Australia working for the Wesfarmers conglomerate as operations director of Coles and managing director of Target Australia. [3] [4] He resigned as managing director of Target in April 2016 because of accounting irregularities that he was unaware of but "happened on [his] watch". [3] He then became CEO of Steinhoff International in the UK before being headhunted to join Marks & Spencer (M&S) as managing director of its food division. [3]

M&S

Machin joined M&S as Food Managing Director in May 2018. [4]

In February 2019, M&S announced it was paying £750m for a 50% stake in a joint venture called Ocado Retail Limited, replacing Ocado's previous retail partner Waitrose which had recently started its own standalone food delivery proposition. As part of the deal, Machin became a non-executive director of the new joint venture. [1]

In May 2021, Machin was given the additional role of joint chief operating officer (COO), alongside Katie Bickerstaffe. This saw Machin assume responsibility for HR, IT, Property & Store Development, and Central & Store Operations, in addition to his role as food MD. [5]

In March 2022, it was announced that Machin would succeed Steve Rowe as CEO of M&S, while Bickerstaffe would become co-CEO, [6] reporting to Machin, [7] Machin assumed his new role on 25 May 2022 and joined the board. [8] In July 2024, Bickerstaffe stepped down from her role as co-CEO. [7]

In May 2022, [9] Machin launched "Straight to Stuart", a scheme that allows staff to share views and ideas with him for improving M&S. As of January 2024, the scheme had generated over 15,000 suggestions from colleagues, [10] including from bowel cancer survivor Cara Hoofe whose idea for the inclusion of bowel cancer symptoms on toilet roll packaging and in-store toilets was implemented across all M&S stores. [11]

In August 2022, Machin said that London's Oxford Street was in danger of becoming a "dinosaur district destined for extinction", and has been vocal in support of the controversial planned demolition and redevelopment of M&S's flagship store there, close to Marble Arch. [12] [13]

Machin has advocated for reforms to the apprenticeship levy, arguing that its current structure hindered M&S's ability to train more young individuals. [14] He oversaw the re-launch of management trainee schemes for school leavers and graduates at M&S in 2023. [15] Under Machin’s leadership, M&S returned to the FTSE100 in August 2023 and restored its dividend for shareholders in 2024. [16]

Personal life

Machin lives in south London, and his hobbies are music, theatre, politics, food, fashion, and walking his dog, Kostas. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Stuart MACHIN". Companies House. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Stuart Machin Chief Operating Officer & Managing Director of Food". M&S. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Davey, James (20 May 2022). "Factbox: Who is Stuart Machin, M&S's new CEO?". Reuters. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 Hughes, Sarah (10 March 2022). "M&S Food leader Stuart Machin to become CEO". Grocery Gazette. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "M&S boss to quit after six years in top job". The Independent. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. ↑ Butler, Sarah (10 March 2022). "M&S boss Steve Rowe to step down after close to 40 years with retailer". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  7. 1 2 Onita, Laura (7 March 2024). "M&S co-chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe to step down". Financial Times.
  8. ↑ Hughes, Sarah (10 March 2022). "M&S Food leader Stuart Machin to become CEO". Grocery Gazette. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Weston, Sabina (23 February 2023). "M&S rolls out breast cancer advice to 2,000 fitting rooms". Drapers Online.
  10. ↑ "M&S Annual Results 2023" (PDF). Marks & Spencer.
  11. ↑ Reid, Laura (3 August 2022). "Meet the Yorkshire woman who has spurred supermarkets to include bowel cancer symptoms on toilet roll packaging in fight against the disease". The Yorkshire Post.
  12. ↑ O'Murchu, Cynthia. "How Oxford Street was overrun by sweet shops". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  13. ↑ Hawkins, Emily (21 August 2022). "M&S doubles down on plans to demolish Art Deco Oxford St store". City AM. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  14. ↑ Farrel, Steve (10 February 2023). "M&S CEO Stuart Machin joins calls for reform of Apprenticeship Levy". The Grocer.
  15. ↑ Fish, Isabella (18 October 2023). "M&S scheme turns trainees into managers in 18 months". The Times.
  16. ↑ Prynn, Jonathan (8 November 2023). "M&S boss Stuart Machin may be on course to deliver £1bn profits — and earn himself a knighthood". The Standard.
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