Rose's ransom

31 March 2008 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

It s outrageous that the UK retailer felt obliged to promote Stuart Rose to executive chairman. But don t blame him. Rose can only hold M&S to ransom because his chairman and board failed to secure a successor.

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Schroders and Legal & General, the UK fund managers, have publicly criticised Marks & Spencer's plans to promote chief executive Stuart Rose to the new role of executive chairman. Morley Fund Management, Brandes and Fidelity also understood to share concerns that Rose's new role deviates from UK corporate governance best practice, according to weekend UK press reports.

Unlike the US, where executive chairmanships are common, the UK's Higgs code on corporate governance recommends that companies keep the roles of chairman and chief executive separate. Companies can deviate from this best practice so long as they explain their reasons for doing so.

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