Profile: Ian Dyson, incoming chief executive, Punch Taverns

IN A few months he will be crowned lord of the pubs, but incoming Punch Taverns chief executive Ian Dyson is already facing copious challenges with the potential to destabilise his reign.

• Ian Dyson faces a turbulent period when he assumes management of PUnch Taverns

At the top are two would-be leaders who, like Dyson at Marks & Spencer, were passed over for the top job at the company where they have served for many years. On the ground stands an army of Punch's struggling tenants, many of whom are deeply disgruntled by their treatment at the hands of the landlord.

In between are an array of ills plaguing the on-licence industry, ranging from ever-rising duties and taxes to a British public increasingly inclined to drink at home. Punch Taverns is also burdened by a potentially crippling debt pile – currently at more than 3 billion – which pushed the UK's biggest pub chain towards the brink of collapse just last year.

That Dyson is willing to take on such a difficult task for a drop in salary reflects the depth of his feelings at failing to secure the chief executive's seat at retailing giant Marks & Spencer, where he has been finance director since mid-2005. The job was instead awarded to outsider Marc Bolland, the former head of supermarket group Morrisons, who joined M&S last week.

Dyson tendered his resignation less than 48 hours after Bolland's arrival. The FD admitted that the timing was "not perfect", though it seems unlikely he will lose much sleep over the decision to leave.

By all accounts, Dyson was extremely keen to take over from Sir Stuart Rose at M&S. Although he was seen for many years as a drab accountant, he was given the chance to earn his colours last year, when he was put in charge of the "20-20" project designed to "deliver a step change" in M&S's fortunes.

"He presented the whole of that review to investors and analysts, and most people were extremely impressed," says Sam Hart, retail analyst at Charles Stanley. "He came across far better when he started to talk about strategy rather than just numbers. I get the impression that he was kept in the shadows while he was finance director."

Though the results of the 20-20 review are not yet known, they could yet form the basis of any strategic overhaul that Bolland is expected to put forward for M&S in November. But whatever its merits, 20-20 appears to have been too little, too late, for Dyson.

Although generally regarded as the favourite among the internal chief executive candidates at M&S, many believed Dyson would struggle to shine if the retailing group managed to attract one of the sector's heavy hitters. There was also a degree of pressure for an external appointment, as investors had become exasperated with protracted clashes over Rose's tenure and bonus payments.

That said, Dyson failed to help his own cause at M&S's investor day last October, an event widely regarded as "the great audition" for the crop of would-be leaders. Dyson was described as nervous during his presentation on IT and supply chain management, while the event overall was roundly labelled a damp squib.

While the fact of his resignation was not particularly surprising – more than a few spurned CEO candidates have been known to make a quick exit – both the timing of Dyson's departure and his destination have raised some eyebrows.

Punch, which has been taken to task in the past for some of its executive pay structures, was at pains last week to point out that Dyson will be paid less as its chief executive than he had been at M&S. Last year, Dyson received a total package worth slightly more than 1 million, including basic pay of 625,000. During that same period, his predecessor at Punch was paid a total of 681,000, including a basic salary of 525,000.

Privately, some observers speculate that Dyson simply could not accept playing second fiddle to Bolland. The lengthy search for Rose's successor had Dyson's name in the frame for more than a year, leading the 47-year-old to conclude that his time had finally come at the helm of a FTSE 100 company.

He could yet earn that coveted prize, but he will first have to prove his mettle at Punch – a task easier said than done. Dyson's top two lieutenants will be Roger Whiteside, who runs Punch's leased pubs division, and Mike Tye, head of the managed division. Both were unsuccessful challengers for the top job at Punch, and it remains to be seen whether either of them will respond as Dyson did at M&S.

Punch, which ranks as Scotland's biggest independent pub owner, has also been at loggerheads with many of the tenants of its 7,100 or so UK establishments over the "beer tie". This arrangement obliges publicans to pay rent while also purchasing all of their beer through the group, usually at a higher than market price.

Though Punch says it is paying more than 2m a month to support its tenants, many remain unhappy, claiming that the company has further exacerbated a difficult trading environment. Operators across the industry are struggling with the on-going effects of smoking bans, above-inflation tax hikes, competitive threats from supermarket pricing and lower consumer spending.

How Dyson intends to tackle all of this, as well as Punch's debt mountain, will prove interesting. If he can pull it off, the rewards could make a distant memory of the disappointment during his final days at M&S.

Ian Dyson: Background

RAISED in the north-west of England, Ian Dyson earned a degree in economics from Leeds University in 1983.

He began his career as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen, and became a partner in 1994.

He left that year to become finance director at the Meridien hotels division of Forte. Dyson then went on to join the Hilton Group, where he was group financial controller and financial director for the international hotels division from 1996 to 1999.

He then joined Rank Group as finance director, where he helped lead the leisure group through a substantial restructuring.

He went to Marks & Spencer in 2005, just a year after Stuart Rose was appointed chief executive. Dyson's initial annual salary of 420,000 was augmented by a "golden hello" of share grants worth 840,000.

He was a non-executive director at Misys until September 2005, and currently serves as a non-executive on the board of Betfair. He is married and has two children.