Pearson’s chief to step down

Dame Marjorie’s departure at the end of the year will leave just three female chief executives among London’s top 100 public companies as she will be replaced by John Fallon, head of Pearson’s international education arm.

The 65-year-old transformed Pearson when she joined as chief executive in 1997 from a diverse conglomerate, owning a range of unconnected businesses from Alton Towers to Thames Television, to a more focused ‘learning’ company.

Announcing her departure, the American-born British citizen said: “It has been a privilege to be part of such a great company for a small part of its history.”

Angela Ahrendts at fashion group Burberry, Cynthia Carroll at miner Anglo American and Alison Cooper of Imperial Tobacco will be the remaining female chief executives on the FTSE 100 Index. Dame Marjorie was number 86 on the 2012 Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.