Marks & Spencer has appointed a new managing director of its food division, following former grocery boss Stuart Machin’s promotion to become chief executive.
Marks & Spencer has recruited Alex Freudmann to the post. He joins from Australian beer, wine and spirits retailer Dan Murphy’s. Before that he was at grocer Coles, where Machin also worked, and rose to become director of fresh food.
Freudmann, who also spent six years at Tesco, will join M&S on November 1 and will sit on its executive committee.
Machin said: “Alex will bring a great deal of experience and passion to our business. He has worked in food retailing for nearly two decades and in all of his roles he’s been a change-maker – bringing intellect, pace and energy. He will be a great addition to our top team as we work together to deliver the next stage of our transformation.”
Freudmann said: “M&S Food is a unique and very special business with world-leading food values, and I’ve always had huge respect for the brand. I’ve watched how the business has been transformed over the past few years from afar. The team has done a great job of building a bigger, better food business through investing in trusted value and core categories while maintaining the outstanding quality and innovation the brand is famous for.
”Although much has been achieved, huge opportunities remain, and I share the executive team’s belief in the long-term potential to double the size of the business. I am looking forward to coming back to the UK and working with a great team to accelerate the pace of change to build an even bigger, better, fresher Food business.”
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