Marks and Spencer has appointed the boss of British Airways to its board 18 months after the retailer’s chair publicly hit out at what he saw as the airline’s declining service.
Sean Doyle will become a non-executive director on December 1 amid a push by M&S to win market share in its food and fashion businesses and boost profits.
The retailer said Doyle “represents an iconic British brand with extraordinary public exposure”.
The appointment comes after Archie Norman complained on X in May 2024 that several of his BA flights had been cancelled, commenting that it was “sad to see a great airline deteriorate”. The posts were later deleted.
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On Wednesday, in a light-hearted response to the X posts, Norman said: “I’m glad to say there has been an improvement in punctuality in the flights to Glasgow since that episode. Having Sean on our board means that I will not need to go through X to make my views known — and I’m sure there’s much we can learn from each other about customer service.”
In 2017 BA started selling M&S food to economy passengers on short-haul flights after ending free meals before switching to Tom Kerridge products four years later.
Doyle will join another heavyweight retailer, former Asda chief executive Roger Burnley, on the M&S board from next month.
Doyle said heading up Britain’s flag carrier was a “very special job . . . not many brands can equal that, but M&S certainly can”.
BA is owned by IAG, the FTSE 100 group that also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus — the airline Doyle previously ran.
Norman, one of the UK’s most respected retail leaders, and chief executive Stuart Machin have been credited with turning around M&S after years of decline. It has reorientated its food business to appeal to families as well as re-establishing its credentials as a clothing retailer, and is in a multiyear programme to renew many stores.M&S is also recovering from a cyber attack earlier this year that left it unable to sell clothes and furniture online for seven weeks.
Last month Norman committed to remaining as chair until 2029, taking his term to 12 years — far beyond UK corporate government guidelines that recommend a chair should only serve for nine years. - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
