M&S' new CEO, Steve Rowe, shows benefits of twinned succession planning and L&D

Steve Rowe, Marc Bolland’s successor as CEO of Marks & Spencer (M&S), first worked for the retailer when he was 15.

His only spell away from the company was four years at Topshop when he had left school. His appointment highlights many values that companies strive for, and also highlights the benefits of an entwined strategy of succession planning and L&D.

Robert Swannell, M&S Group Chairman, said it was “the most rigorous succession planning.”

Rowe has worked in a variety of roles - Category Manager in the Furniture Department, Director of Home, and Director of Retail and E-commerce – since 1989, and will know the culture and values of the firm inside out. His successes in his latest role (Executive Director – General Merchandise) are testament to this. Last year the company awarded him the highest bonus of all M&S bosses.