Marks & Spencer chief Sir Stuart Rose has pledged to remain with the high-street retailer until 2011, as he moves up from chief executive to become executive chairman.
The management overhaul saw Lord Burns stand down from his position as non-executive chairman. Retail director Guy Farrant will also leave, after a 30-year stint at M&S.
Rose, who is 58, will retire once he has completed his new three-year role, which starts in June.
The announcement today puts paid to recent rumours that Rose was about to quit M&S. He originally said, on joining in 2004, that he would only stay with the retailer for three years.
But his new role is set to make waves in the city, with corporate governance guidelines recommending a company should avoid promoting a chief executive to the role of chairman.
M&S's second-largest shareholder, Legal & General, has publicly criticised the retailer's decision, suggesting that it puts too much power in one man's hands.
Mark Burgess, head of equities at L&G Investment Management, said: "As set out in the Combined Code, we believe strongly in the separation of the roles of chairman and chief executive, believing that this provides a much needed balance in the boardroom, and prevents potentially damaging concentration of power."
M&S, which insisted the move is “in the best interests” of the store, declined to comment on Rose’s salary in his new role. He earned £7.8 million in salary and bonuses in 2006-07.
Separately, shares in M&S fell to a 30-month low on Friday following talk of poor trading, especially from its food halls. Industry insiders believe that its ready meal sector is performing badly.
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