Marks & Spencer has appointed New Look executive Elaine Cartwright as its new stores director of innovation and implementation.
Cartwright joins the retailer after more than 12 years at New Look, where she most recently held the position of retail director for the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Before that, she worked at River Island, serving as mobile manager for central London between February 2011 and September 2012, and later as manager of the brand’s Oxford Street flagship store until September 2013.
In a memo to staff, M&S director of central operations Jayne Wall said Cartwright brought “more than 20 years of senior retail experience”, noting that she had led “large store networks, omnichannel operations and complex transformation programmes”. Wall said Cartwright would support efforts to “raise the bar by innovating the retail operating model and transforming customer solutions”, with the aim of delivering “exceptional service all day, every day, to every customer”.
Wall added that Cartwright would spend her first month in stores during the peak trading period before formally assuming her role in February, reporting directly to her.
The appointment follows M&S’s decision last month to name former Asda chief executive Roger Burnley as a non-executive director. The retailer also recently extended chairman Archie Norman’s tenure by a further three years.
