Marks & Spencer has appointed David Surdeau to oversee its finances until a permanent chief financial officer is appointed.

Surdeau, who brings experience from businesses including Tesco and British American Tobacco, is taking over from Humphrey Singer who stood down as M&S finance chief at the end of last month.

Surdeau’s Tesco roles included group planning, treasury and tax director, and he was chief financial officer of the South Korean and Polish divisions.

Since leaving Tesco he has held a portfolio of roles. He will start at M&S on January 7 and report to chief executive Steve Rowe.

Singer left after little more than a year in the role, during which time M&S lost its blue-chip status when it was ejected from the FTSE 100 index.

Chair Archie Norman was reportedly unimpressed with Singer’s handling of a rights issue to fund the retailer’s acquisition of a stake in online grocer Ocado.

M&S will issue a Christmas trading statement on January 9.

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