Marc Bolland

Marc Bolland (born 28 March 1959) is a Dutch businessman, who was the CEO of Marks & Spencer, after having been CEO of UK supermarket company Morrisons.

Marc Bolland
Born	28 March 1959 (age 61) Apeldoorn, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Education	University of Groningen
Occupation	Businessman
Years active	1987–present
Title	COO of Heineken (2005–2006) CEO of Morrisons (2006–2009) CEO of M&S (2010–2016) Chairman at Polymateria (2020–)
Successor	Steve Rowe

Biography

Early life

He received a bachelor's degree from the Hotelschool The Hague, and then an MBA at the University of Groningen.[1]

Heineken

He began as a graduate at Amsterdam-based Heineken International NV, the third largest brewer in the world, in 1987. Bolland worked in various international management positions in Africa and Central Europe before joining the Heineken board in 2001. He became chief operating officer in 2005. Bolland has been credited with both building and rolling out the Heineken brand internationally.[2][3]

Morrisons

In September 2006, he was appointed CEO of the UK supermarket chain Morrisons. Morrisons had acquired Safeway in 2004 creating a 130,000 people strong retail conglomerate in the UK. The merger initially proved unsuccessful. Bolland joined after five profit warnings with a brief to turn round the company.[4]

By 2008 Morrisons had achieved strong growth in both market share and profits, and in 2008, Bolland was announced as The Times "Businessman of the year".[5][6] Under his guidance, Morrisons "...gained significant market share from rivals".[7]

Marks & Spencer

In November 2009, it was announced that Bolland would become CEO of Marks & Spencer Group PLC. In May 2010, he took over from the then chairman & CEO Sir Stuart Rose. Bolland launched a plan to grow M&S into an international multi-channel retailer.[4] The Evening Standard named Bolland as one of "London's 1000 most influential people" for 2010.[8]

During September 2011, he announced a new look store environment for M&S's UK stores, with a plan to complete the roll out to the entire UK estate by mid-2013. In 2011, M&S returned to France after a 10-year absence and also started the development of a new digital platform that was launched in February 2014.[9]

In 2011, Bolland received an honorary doctorate from York St John University.[10] He was named as "Most Admired Leader" at Management Today magazine's "Britain's Most Admired Companies 2011" awards having been nominated by his peers in the FTSE 100.[11]

In 2014 Bolland was appointed as the Prince of Wales National Ambassador for Business in the Community and in February 2015 Bolland joined the board of The Coca-Cola Company as a Director.[12]

In January 2016, it was announced that Bolland would be retiring as CEO of Marks and Spencer effective April 2016, and would be replaced by Steve Rowe.[13]

In June 2016, it was announced that Bolland was appointed as a non-executive director of IAG (International Airlines Group).[14][15]

Polymateria

In July 2020, he joined the Polymateria board as chairman.[16][17]

References

1. "WM Morrison chief executive Marc Bolland on how he has transformed the supermarket chain". Telegraph. July 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
2. Woodward, Richard (8 June 2006). "Bolland to refresh parts of Morrisons". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
3. "Speaker: Marc Bolland". Business for Social Responsibility. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
4. Teather, David (18 November 2009). "High-flying Dutchman makes it to the top". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
5. "Dossiers - Marc Bolland". World of CEOs. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
6. Martin, Sean (20 May 2014). "Has Marks & Spencer Boss Marc Bolland Failed in his Turnaround Plan?". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
7. Lagorce, Aude (18 November 2009). "M&S appoints Morrison boss Marc Bolland CEO". Market Watch. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
8. "London's 1000 most influential people 2010: Tycoons & Retailers". Evening Standard. 15 November 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
9. Dan Milmo and Marie Winckler, Kim Willsher (1 April 2011). "Marks & Spencer makes Paris comeback with Champs Elysées store". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
10. "Honorary Graduates 2011 | York St John". Retrieved 12 July 2013.
11. Burn-Callander, Rebecca (1 December 2011). "Britain's Most Admired Companies 2011". Management Today. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
12. "Board of Directors: Marc Bolland". The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
13. "Marks and Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland to quit". The BBC. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
14. "Bolland Flies In To British Airways Owner IAG".
15. "Directorate Change - RNS - London Stock Exchange". www.londonstockexchange.com.
16. Gordon, Jamie (21 July 2020). "Polymateria receives £15m boost for roll-out of its Biotransformation technology". UK Investor Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
17. Souris, Simon (17 July 2020). "Frédéric de Mévius embarque dans l'aventure zéro-plastique" [Frédéric de Mévius embarks on the zero-plastic adventure]. L'Echo (in French). Retrieved 13 January 2021.

External links

• Morrisons profile
• Heineken