Finance
Justin King quits board of British retailer M&S
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 20, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 20, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Justin King will resign from the M&S board in September, amid rumors of him becoming Channel 4's chair. M&S is recovering from a cyberattack.
LONDON (Reuters) -Justin King, one of Britain's most prominent business figures, will quit the board of Marks & Spencer next month, the retailer said on Wednesday.
Media reports last month said King was the frontrunner to take over as chair of publicly owned UK broadcaster Channel 4.
Reuters has asked Channel 4 to comment.
M&S said King, a non-executive director since 2019 and a former head of its food business, had informed the board he intended to step down on September 10.
King, also a former boss of supermarket Sainsbury's, was once considered by analysts as a possible successor to M&S chairman Archie Norman, who has held the role since 2017.
Britain's corporate governance code recommends a maximum nine-year tenure for a chair.
Norman said King "leaves as a lifelong friend of the business".
M&S is recovering after a cyberattack in April crippled its online business. Its shares are down 6% so far this year.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Justin King intends to step down from the Marks & Spencer board on September 10.
Justin King was reported to be the frontrunner to take over as chair of Channel 4.
Justin King has been a non-executive director at Marks & Spencer since 2019.
Marks & Spencer is recovering from a cyberattack in April that crippled its online business, and its shares are down 6% this year.
Archie Norman stated that Justin King leaves as a lifelong friend of the business.
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