Marks & Spencer has named former Rentokil CFO Jeremy Townsend group interim CFO, taking over from Eoin Tonge who is joining Primark owner Associated British Foods next year.
Earlier this year, M&S announced that Tonge, who was part of the retailer’s triumvirate of leaders alongside CEO Stuart Machin and co-CEO Katie Bickerstaffe, was leaving the company for a finance director role at ABF.
He is officially stepping down from the board on 9 December, with Townsend taking over. He will report to Machin.
“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.
Townsend has previously held senior financial roles across different companies. He was most recently group CFO at pest control firm Rentokil for 10 years.
Prior to that he was group finance director of Mitchells & Butlers, and held various senior finance positions at Sainsbury’s.
After resigning from Rentokil in August 2020, he joined Morrisons in a non-exec role. He also became chairman of the supermarket’s audit committee and sat on its corporate compliance and responsibility, nomination and remuneration committees.
When Tonge announced he was leaving M&S, Morrisons’ departing CFO Trevor Strain was touted as one of his potential replacements.
Strain stepped down as CFO after 13 years with the company claiming he wanted a new challenge.
The appointement of an interim CFO is unlikely to dampen that speculation.
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