People: New M&S boss Bolland leaves Morrisons early

Published on Friday 4 December 2009 21:28

MARKS & Spencer's new boss has left his post as chief executive of supermarket chain Morrisons two months earlier than expected.

Marc Bolland was due to step down at the end of January, ahead of taking on the top job at M&S. But Morrisons yesterday said he would "relinquish" his chief executive duties this week.

It was unclear last night if he will join M&S early, with a spokeswoman for Morrisons saying a start date was "still under discussion".

Bolland had three executive directors reporting directly to him and they will run the group until a replacement is appointed, with chairman Sir Ian Gibson leading the board.

Away from the high-flying world of FTSE 100 retailers, Henderson Loggie has shown its intent to continue as one of Scotland's fastest-growing independent accountancy firms.

The practice has taken on a team from Begbies Traynor to bolster its business recovery and insolvency department. Among the three new arrivals at Loggie is the "highly experienced" George Dale, who immediately becomes joint head of the department, alongside Graeme Smith, already an established insolvency practitioner in Dundee and the north-east of Scotland.

Claire Middlebrook, who qualified as a CA in 2003, becomes a director in the expanded business recovery department, while the team's third new member is Graeme Mackay.

Smith says: "We intend to get into areas where thus far we haven't had the strong presence enjoyed in Tayside and the North-east."

Adamo Hotel Group has introduced a number of changes to its management team across the boutique estate.

Richard Turner, general manager at Adamo Stirling since 2008, has been appointed general manager of Adamo Bridge of Allan.

John Rooney, assistant manager at Stirling, will take the helm at the city centre hotel and become general manager, and Ross Wallace, head chef at Stirling since 2006, will take over from David Maskell and become executive chef for the Adamo Hotel Group.

New chairman Dick aims to boost good business practice

BRENDAN Dick, BT's director for Scotland, was this week named as chairman of corporate social responsibility organisation Scottish Business in the Community (SBC).

Dick, pictured, who recently completed a term as the Prince of Wales's Ambassador for Corporate Social Responsibility in Scotland, said membership of SBC had been boosted by 10 per cent in recent months. He aimed to "re-establish the core values of what good business behaviour is at the heart of good business practice".

"We are in a recession and public finances are also shot. Things are going to be quite tough," he admitted. "I believe part of the problem we face is there is a slight dent in the belief about what business is about. But if you look at typical businesses in Scotland, the majority do fantastic work. Not just in terms of making money and profit, which matters, but in terms of how organisations engage in doing good in the community in different ways."

GOOD DAY

Marie-Louise Clayton

CLAYTON is joining ports and property group Forth Ports as a non-executive director, the firm said yesterday. She will take up the post from the start of the new year. Clayton, who has held a number of senior positions, including a stint as finance director of oil and gas explorer Venture Production, will also chair Forth Ports' audit committee.

BAD DAY

Yukitoshi Funo

CAR giant Toyota may not be able to achieve a smooth earnings recovery into next year as it had hoped, executive vice-president Yukitoshi Funo admitted yesterday.

"The initial scenario was to return to the black next year," he said. "But I don't think we can expect an improvement in a linear fashion into next year any more."