M&S has hired Alex Freudmann, boss of Australia’s leading beer, wine and spirits retailer Dan Murphy, as its new managing director of food.
Freudmann replaces Stuart Machin, who became chief executive of the food business late last month.
He will join M&S on 1 November and will sit on the executive committee. Freudmann has an extensive track record of leading change in some of the world’s best food a
nd drink retailers, including Tesco, Coles and Dan Murphy’s.
Freudmann joined Dan Murphy’s back in January 2020 after a successful ten years as part of the Coles transformation team, latterly as director of fresh food.
According to M&S, in his two-year tenure at Dan Murphy’s he led significant changes, including a substantial shift to digital and online.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said: “Alex will bring a great deal of experience and passion to our business. He has worked in food retailing for nearly two decades and in all of his roles he’s been a change-maker – bringing intellect, pace and energy. He will be a great addition to our top team as we work together to deliver the next stage of our transformation.”
Freudmann added: “M&S Food is a unique and very special business with world-leading food values, and I’ve always had huge respect for the brand. I’ve watched how the business has been transformed over the past few years from afar.
“The team has done a great job of building a bigger, better food business through investing in trusted value and core categories while maintaining the outstanding quality and innovation the brand is famous for.
“Although much has been achieved, huge opportunities remain, and I share the executive team’s belief in the long-term potential to double the size of the business. I am looking forward to coming back to the UK and working with a great team to accelerate the pace of change to build an even bigger, better, fresher food business.”
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