Sir Stuart survives vote to split his dual role at M&S

Jul 9 2009 By The Journal

SIR Stuart Rose has survived a shareholder vote designed to split his controversial dual role at the helm of Marks & Spencer.

But Sir Stuart – who is both chief executive and chairman of the retailer – did face investors’ misgivings about the firm’s management structure.

A resolution tabled at the M&S annual meeting in London yesterday by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) did not receive sufficient votes to be recognised by the board.

Sir Stuart said the resolution had attracted less than half of the votes, adding: "The board sees this as an endorsement of its succession plans."

Sir Stuart was dealt a personal blow by shareholders, as 21.5% of those who voted were either against or abstained from supporting his re-election. The resolution introduced by the LAPFF – which was designed to make Sir Stuart split his role a year early – received 40.3% of the votes in favour, significantly less than the 75% it would have needed to be acted on in an advisory capacity.

Councillor Ian Greenwood, of the LAPFF, told the meeting his organisation did not oppose Sir Stuart personally.

But he said: "There is no doubt whatever that having a chair and chief executive as the same person is an increased risk."

Mr Greenwood said the LAPFF recognised that there are "certain circumstances" when one person would hold both positions for a short period of time, but added "this is not a short period.

"There is a reputational risk, there’s no doubt about that."