No big British company has dared to give the titles of chairman and chief executive to one person, as is commonplace in the US. But whatever the role is called, plenty are experimenting with “non-non-executive chairmen”: HSBC, ITV, Cable and Wireless – and now Marks and Spencer.
As plastic bag manufacturers have just found out, where M&S leads, others follow. That makes the retailer’s decision to elevate Sir Stuart Rose to executive chairman notable. Whether it should be adopted more widely is another matter.
The FTSE 100’s non-non-execs are hardly a homogeneous bunch. They include a trio of natural resources chiefs – founders or big shareholders in Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources and Antofagasta – who spend more time outside the UK than in it. But it is as hard to imagine one of them swapping seats with Stephen Green at HSBC as it is to envisage Sir Stuart at the helm of Cable and Wireless, where Richard Lapthorne presides over a management structure and incentive scheme modelled on those of private equity.
See full Article (paid subscription required).
Posts
