Morrisons food exec jumps ship for Marks & Spencer

Andy Clappen, Morrisons group corporate and technical services director, will join Marks & Spencer as food technical director in the new year. 

He replaces Paul Willgoss, who is standing down as M&S food technical director after 12 years in the role and more than two decades at M&S.

Clappen’s Morrisons remit includes food and general merchandise technology, safety and quality, as well as corporate social responsibility and ethical trading.

Clappen formerly spent two decades at M&S before working for Canadian group Loblaw as senior vice-president of food safety, quality and regulatory affairs. 

M&S chief operating officer and food division managing director Stuart Machin said: “Andrew brings a wealth of experience from across the food industry – not only with M&S but with other major national and international retailers – and he joins M&S at an important point in our transformation.

“His skills and experience in food technology and leadership, alongside his interest in sustainability, make him the ideal candidate for this role and he will be an enormous asset to the business.”

Willgoss, who has been at M&S for 26 years, is leaving to “seek new challenges where he can use his considerable expertise across the breadth of the food and agriculture industry”. 

• Meanwhile, M&S has acquired a 25% stake in fashion brand Nobody’s Child as efforts to revive its clothing and home division gather momentum. The deal, first reported by The Daily Mail, marks the first time that M&S has taken a stake in another apparel business. Nobody’s Child is one of more than 30 third-party brands that M&S has started selling in its stores and online as it bids to attract new customers.