Marks & Spencer makes new appointments in food leadership restructure

Marks & Spencer has appointed former Amazon and Tesco executive John Farrell as commercial director, ambient, and promoted Jeni Blackett to be commercial director, fresh.

The two new roles replace the former single position of chief commercial officer, which had been held by Kara Greatorex, who joined M&S from Aldi in 2024.

Farrell has spent seven years with Amazon at its Seattle HQ, most recently working on special projects and before that as chief merchant. He is a former group transformation director of Tesco, and brings grocery and consumer goods experience from other businesses, including Asda and Unilever.

Blackett was formerly M&S’s fresh foods trading director. She has been with the retailer for more than four years and, before that, spent more than a decade at Tesco.

Head of supply chain, Susan Massicot, will also now move up to the M&S food leadership team.

All will report to food managing director Alex Freudmann.

The changes were announced in a memo to M&S staff today from Freudmann. He said: “John will bring strong commercial expertise and an international perspective, and alongside Jeni, Susan and the rest of the food leadership team, I’m confident we have the right team in place, focused on continuing to deliver quality, value and innovation for our customers.”

The food business has been the star performer at Marks & Spencer for some time, on the back of innovation, an expanded offer, a reputation for product quality, and investment in value. Last year, M&S’s food sales were up 7%, generating an adjusted operating profit of £444.5m.