Jodie

I lead a team of 23 people covering the whole spectrum of the food business, from core categories, food on the move and ambient lines to cafés, franchises and the supply chain. I have everyone from Junior Analysts doing their professional exams, through to senior finance managers. It’s a diverse team with people from very different personal and professional backgrounds. The biggest part of my job is giving them the support, encouragement and trust to do theirs. Together, we help the food business understand what the numbers mean in terms of opportunities and risks. 

The basic financial processes are increasingly done by digital tools and systems, so our work is more about strategic decision support. We show people what’s really going on – and how to make it better. Finance is always involved when we’re making big commercial decisions, and that’s very satisfying to be part of.

There’s a lot of special project work too. Recently we analysed the performance of our in-store cafés to see if they were profitable. When we actually looked at the financial dynamics, from waste and working patterns to pricing and menu mix, we showed that not only were the cafés profitable – with innovations like the M&S big breakfast – there was also enormous scope for growth. By looking into the detail of which cafés were the most profitable, we were able to develop a practical action plan to drive profitability up even further.

For me, a career at M&S means continuous learning: I keep getting new and interesting things to do. I’ve worked in Property, International and Corporate Planning, but I’ve also had a secondment into Mergers & Acquisitions, and I worked with an external consulting firm on a transformation project in the Clothing business.

I have worked with other big and prestigious firms, but with this business, it’s personal. M&S people love the brand and they love being part of it. Food is a tough sector, what with the competing pressures on affordability, quality, profit and sustainability, but the default attitude is always to be kind and friendly. We also believe in what we do. On sustainability, we put our money where our mouth is. When we reduce our packaging or switch exclusively to free-range chicken, we may take a short-term hit on profit, but it’s the right thing to do.

Now I think we are in a great place: there’s a momentum to our growth and you can sense people are confident about the future. And as finance professionals, we have a seat at the table, driving it forward.