New King in waiting at Sainsbury’s
M&S food chief to take chief executive role
November 19 2003
Sainsbury’s has appointed Justin King as group chief executive to succeed Sir Peter Davis.
The appointment of King, currently head of Marks & Spencer’s food operation, follows a long search for a suitable candidate, with Sainsbury’s hoping to send a strong message to the City after a period in which sales have suffered during the business transformation programme implemented by Sir Peter.
King is credited with stepping up M&S’s already successful food operation another gear through the development of its stand alone Simply Food store format.
He previously worked at Asda during the period which saw the rival supermarket chain lay the ground for the business growth which saw it overtake Sainsbury’s sales this year.
Sir Peter will spend a year a chairman when King takes over the chief executive role in March next year, with Sainsbury’s now looking for a new non-executive deputy chairman for April 2004 able to succeed Sir Peter Davis as chairman in July 2005.
Sir Peter said: “Justin’s early training with Mars and his food retailing experience with value oriented Asda and quality focussed Marks and Spencer makes him the ideal candidate for Sainsbury’s.
“Justin identifies with our trading strengths and, in an increasingly competitive market, has the talent and experience to drive our business forward on a greatly modernised and improved infrastructure.”
Sir George Bull, Sainsbury’s non-executive chairman said:”We instigated a thorough search nationally and internationally through Whitehead Mann, a leading executive search agency, and have considered a number of suitable candidates. In the final stage the non-executive directors were unanimous in selecting Justin King from a short-list of very well qualified and experienced candidates.”
King said: “After 20 years in the grocery industry I know the special role Sainsbury’s has for millions of customers. I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to lead the next stage of Sainsbury’s development and look forward to the challenge.”
Marks and Spencer said that Maurice Helfgott, currently director of menswear, has joined the M&S board with responsibility for food in King’s place. M&S chief executive Roger Holmes said: “Justin has been a valued member of the team, but he had the opportunity to take a CEO role and we wish him well for the future.
“Maurice is one of Marks & Spencer’s brightest stars. He has broad-based experience, has demonstrated his versatility and achieved great success. He has also been the driving force behind the segmentation in menswear.
“Our food division is well established, with a reputation based on providing excellent quality and innovative food. Maurice, supported by an experienced team, will be well-positioned to continue the success of this business.”
