Marks Spencer has sensationally swooped for Morrisons boss Marc Bolland to become its new chief executive.
Bolland will succeed current executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose in the New Year, pending confirmation of the terms of contract.
The move follows months of pressure on Rose from shareholders after combining the two roles in breach of corporate best practice.
Bolland beat off competition from internal candidates to take the high-profile role.
Bolland joined Morrisons in September 2006 as chief executive and has been credited with reviving the fortunes of the Bradford-based supermarket chain.
Rose will continue as part-time chairman and will step down completely by July 2011, as previously announced.
Clothing head Kate Bostock, financial director Ian Dyson and food division chief John Dixon looked the best placed to take up the position after Rose’s departure.
The trio presented to analysts at an investors' day that was seen as an audition for the top job last month.
Bolland was previously chief operating officer at Heineken, based in the Netherlands. He has held a number of senior roles at Heineken over the last 20 years, including responsibility for brand and marketing strategies.
The new Dutch ceo said in a statement: “M&S is one of the world's great brands and I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to lead the company forward at this exciting stage. I am greatly looking forward to working closely with Stuart and the M&S team."
Sir Stuart Rose said: "I am delighted that Marc is to be M&S's next chief executive. He brings a wealth of consumer marketing experience and has made a great success of his time at Morrisons."
Paul Mumford, senior fund manager at Cavendish Asset Management, said: “Marc Bollard is a superb, credible choice for the role of chief executive. M&S’ food division is by far the weakest and most challenging half of the business, having struggled to define and validate its offering for recessionary Britain. Bolland’s achievements at Morrisons inspire confidence in his ability to realise M&S’ potential market share within this area.
"I suspect such a move is also partly designed to leave Rose in a position to focus on his own area of expertise - fashion - with Sir Stuart taking anything but a once-removed role in the business. Yet going forward, the food division is the area with considerable potential."
