Alice Avis, director of marketing for the last two years, is still at the company but a spokeswoman said she was "considering her options", as first tipped by Marketing last week.
The news came as executive director Vittorio Radice announced his departure this Friday June 11. Radice had been charged with revitalising the troubled chain, but his much-hyped 拢15m Lifestore in Gateshead fell way short of targets, with sales up to 40% below expectations.
The marketing shake-up comes as Arcadia owner and billionaire Philip Green takes his battle to take over Marks & Spencer to shareholders this week in an effort to win support for his offer.
Last week, the Marks & Spencer board rejected his an initial offer, which was valued at around 拢8bn. The offer was seen by the City as being well short of the 拢9bn M&S is believed to be worth.
Sharp, a former group marketing director at Green's Arcadia, was brought into M&S last week by its new chief executive and former colleague Stuart Rose, although his role was not then defined. One analyst predicted at the time that his appointment signaled the end for Avis at the company.
Rose said he wanted to move quickly to ensure "we have the right people in the right roles so we can move forward".
The reshuffle also affects Maurice Helfgott, executive director for food. He now heads up menswear, childrenswear and home. Guy Farrant, head of trading for food will take on interim responsibility for the division until an executive director is appointed.
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