M&S appoints former Aldi MD and Morrisons director to food team
Downes joins from Morrisons on 26 August and will also be spending his first month working in stores
M&S has announced the appointments of Kara Greatorex as its new chief commercial officer and Jon Downes as supply chain and commercial operations director.
Greatorex had been at Aldi for 15 years working across a number of roles including buying director and managing director for stores.
She joins M&S on the 4 August and will spend her first month working in the store getting close to our colleagues and customers.
She will replace Paul Friston who has decided to leave M&S for other opportunities after 28 years with the business.
Downes joins from Morrisons on 26 August and will also be spending his first month working in stores.
He was commercial director for ambient and non foods at Morrisons and prior to this he spent 14 years working for Tesco in buying and sourcing.
Greatorex said: “I couldn’t be more excited about joining the M&S Food team. It’s a retailer I’ve always loved and admired and having the opportunity to be a part of the ongoing transformation is fantastic. I’m looking forward to working with M&S’s amazing suppliers and colleagues to continue offering customers the quality, innovation and value they expect.”
Alex Freudmann, managing director, added: “I’m delighted that Kara has agreed to join M&S Food. She brings deep commercial experience in buying, store operations, marketing and transformation. As we continue our work to transform M&S Food by investing in quality, value and innovation for customers and by building more strategic relationships with the very best suppliers, Kara’s experience and passion for product will be a great addition to the team.
“I’d also like to thank Paul Friston for his 28 years of service with M&S. Paul has made a significant contribution to our business, leading across Finance, International and most recently as part of my leadership team in Food. We wish him the very best for the future.”
