Marks & Spencer has raided Morrisons to appoint a new director of loyalty, just months after the retailer revamped its Sparks rewards scheme.
Matt McLellan, who has been Morrisons’ chief customer officer and group customer, data and marketing director for just over a year, will succeed Jade Sharpe, who left M&S this month to set up her own customer, loyalty and transformation consultancy.
Having started his career at Safeway, McLellan then spent over 14 years at DunnHumby, ultimately becoming managing director of UK & Ireland before switching to parent company Tesco as group customer propositions director.
In April 2020, McLellan joined Asda as vice-president of customer planning and proposition, where he spearheaded analytics and customer science, customer experience, CRM, and customer platforms. He was also responsible for the design and launch of its loyalty proposition, Asda Rewards.
He left Asda in June last year and joined Morrisons, where he worked across brand, marketing, loyalty, data analytics and retail media.
McLellan will start in the new year and report to Sharry Cramond, M&S marketing director for masterbrand, fashion, home and beauty, as well as loyalty.
In a memo to staff leaked to the media, Cramond said: “Matt has extensive experience of using data and insights to put the customer first and drive long-term profitable growth in large multinational retailers. As we reinvest for growth, loyalty remains an opportunity for M&S.”
M&S is currently executing a major “digital first” transformation strategy, which was significantly accelerated following its cyberattack in early 2025.
The company’s goal is to reshape itself into an agile, data-driven retailer where digital capabilities are at the heart of both customer experience and internal operations.
In April, the retailer revamped its Sparks loyalty scheme in response to customers wanting a more rewarding, personalised experience with “pounds, not points”.
This included the introduction of a new digital Sparks wallet where customers could earn real money rewards to spend in all M&S departments including food, fashion, home and beauty.
Meanwhile, in June, M&S ramped up its digital, data and tech strategy with the appointment of a new chief digital and technology officer.
John Hunt joined from Woolworths Australia, where he has served as chief information officer and managing director of group enablement and succeeded Rachel Higham, who left in September and then joined cybersecurity specialist Xiid.
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