Coup for M&S as Bolland lands Weir for CFO role
HELEN WEIR, the high-flying finance chief, is joining Marks & Spencer after just two years at rival John Lewis Partnership.
Ms Weir, who previously held senior executive roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Kingfisher and B&Q, will join the board as chief finance officer on a date to be confirmed.
Marc Bolland, chief executive at M&S, said: “We are delighted to be appointing Helen as CFO.
“She is extremely well qualified, and brings a wealth of relevant financial, retail and consumer experience.
“We look forward to her joining the M&S team.”
Ms Weir is currently in the same role at the John Lewis Partnership. She joined John Lewis in 2012 from Lloyds, where she spent eight years.
She said: “M&S is one of the UK’s great brands. This is an exciting time to be joining the company and I am delighted to be part of the team.”
Ms Weir was a strong advocate for the Halifax brand and its Yorkshire operations following the HBOS merger with Lloyds in 2008.
In her new role, she will receive a basic annual salary of £590,000 and a one-off payment of £188,500 to compensate for the differential in contractual pension that she is forfeiting to join M&S.
A further award for 2014/15 annual bonus foregone may also be taken into consideration, said M&S.