UK retailer Marks & Spencer has named Rachel Higham as its new Chief Digital and Technology Officer.
Higham, who is currently Chief Information Officer at WPP, will join the business later this year. Prior to joining WPP, Higham was Managing Director for IT at BT Group and Managing Director for Asia in BT’s Technology division. She has also held senior digital and technology roles at Vodafone, ACE Group and in the banking sector.
The appointment comes as M&S continues its digital transformation strategy. This includes implementing AI, including computer vision, in over 500 stores to optimise store operations. In 2023, as a part of this strategy, M&S collaborated with SymphonyAI Retail CPG for its Store Intelligence capabilities.
The company also previously established a data science and AI academy for retail and food In collaboration with education provider Cambridge Spark, the academy will initially train 10 employees in a level 7 data science and AI apprenticeship.
Additionally, the retailer has appointed Mark Lemming as Managing Director of International. Lemming has been promoted from his current role as Clothing & Home Supply Chain & Logistics Director and will begin his new role in the new financial year. Both roles will sit on the Executive Committee, the firm said.
M&S CEO Stuart Machin, said: “These two new leadership appointments reflect the importance of Digital and Technology and capital-light International growth to the next phase of our transformation.”
He added: “As I set out at our recent Capital Markets Day, we have more to do in both of these areas and so much opportunity. Rachel and Mark are a fantastic addition to the Executive team and I am confident that, with their leadership, we will accelerate the pace of change in the business as we reshape M&S for growth.”
