(Reuters) – British retailer Marks & Spencer is considering extending Archie Norman’s tenure as chair beyond the UK’s recommended nine-year term, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
The retailer’s canvassing of investors over whether they would support Norman staying on, comes after M&S suffered a damaging cyber attack in April, which is expected to cost it roughly 300 million pounds ($406.7 million) in gross profit.
The attack, which has been linked to hacker group DragonForce, compromised customer data and forced M&S to suspend click and collect orders for nearly four-months.
Norman was named chairman of M&S at a critical time in 2017, when its clothing division had struggled to deliver growth for more than a decade, and has since been instrumental in revitalising the company with chief executive Stuart Machin.
According to the FT report, a person who knows Norman said he would be willing to stay on, but that it was a decision for the board and investors to make.
M&S did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
($1 = 0.7376 pounds)
(Reporting by Nishara K.P in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
