Morrisons marketing director departs after two months

Morrisons’ group marketing director Claire Farrant has departed the business two months after joining the supermarket from BP.

Group customer, data and media director, Matt McLellan, will assume “full responsibility” for Morrisons’ marketing, customer and data teams.

Farrant joined the business on 3 June from her previous role as vice-president of mobility and convenience Europe at BP. Prior to that, she served as Lidl marketing director for eight years and held senior marketing positions at Tesco, Woolworths and Kerry Foods. Farrant replaced chief customer and marketing officer Rachel Eyre, who joined Asda as chief customer officer last month. 

A Morrisons spokesperson said Farrant chose to depart last month due to “personal family reasons” after “careful consideration”.

“We thank Claire for her contribution and wish her all the best for the future – she will continue to be a friend of Morrisons,” said the grocer.

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McLellan joined in June to handle data and media in a newly created role. Formerly vice-president of customer at Asda for five years, he worked on customer initiatives such as the Cashpot for Schools with Joe Wicks. Prior to this, he was group customer propositions director at Tesco.

At the time of Farrant’s appointment, Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh praised “her deep experience, clear customer focus and proven strategic marketing skills”.

This isn’t the first time a Morrisons marketing director has had a short tenure, as Darren Blackhurst, appointed during Rachel Eyre’s maternity leave, departed the role of interim chief customer and marketing officer after three months.