Stuart Alan Ransom Rose, Baron Rose of Monewden, (born 17 March 1949) is a British businessman and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

, who was the

executive chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

until 2010, remaining as chairman until early 2011. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 2008 for his services to the retail industry and created a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

life peer on 17 September 2014, taking the title Baron Rose of Monewden, of Monewden in the County of Suffolk. Rose was chairman of online retailer Ocado from 2013 to July 2020. He has been chairman of

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

since 2021. In October 2015, he was appointed chair of

Britain Stronger in Europe Britain Stronger in Europe (formally The In Campaign Limited) was an advocacy group which campaigned in favour of the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, ...

, the official remain campaign in the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. As of September 2024, Rose is the co-chief executive of Asda, alongside TDR Capital's Rob Hattrell.

Early life

Rose's grandparents were White Russian émigrés who fled to China after the 1917 revolution. Their son (later named Harry Ransom-Rose) was unofficially adopted by Nona Ransom, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

from Bedford, England, who served as English tutor to (among others) Empress Wanrong (the last Empress of China), and Shunryu Suzuki (the Japanese monk who later established the first Zen monastery outside East Asia). Nona transported Stuart Rose's father, Harry, to safety in England as war loomed. The original family name was Bryantzeff, which Rose's father, ex- RAF and civil servant, changed. His mother's side is English, Scottish and Greek. The young family lived in a

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

in Warwickshire until Rose senior obtained a posting with the Imperial Civil Service in Tanganyika (now

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

). Rose went to the Roman Catholic St Joseph's Convent School in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

until he was 11. When he was 13 years old his family returned to England and his parents sent him to Bootham School, an independent Quaker

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Career

Rose first joined

in 1972, as a management trainee. Rose remained with Marks & Spencer until 1989, when he joined the Burton Group as Chief Executive in 1994. The Burton Group demerged, forming the Arcadia and

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain that operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, as well as franchised locations across Europe and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and gr ...

businesses. In 1997, he joined Argos as Chief Executive, where he was charged with defending the company against a takeover bid from the home shopping giant, Great Universal Stores (GUS). Ultimately, GUS did succeed in taking control of Argos, although Rose was praised for negotiating an increased price for the retailer. In a turbulent time in its history, Rose became the Chief Executive of Booker plc, where he oversaw the merger of the company with

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

to form the Big Food Group. Rose joined the

Arcadia Group Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (B ...

in 2000 as Chief Executive and left in 2002 following its acquisition. Rose turned around the fortunes of the

, and sold the group for over £800m, netting himself around £25m as part of the deal. Rose received an Honorary Doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

in 2007. He was appointed to the position of Chief Executive of

in May 2004 at the age of 56 and subsequently fought off takeover bids by Philip Green for the Group. For this role he was paid an annual salary of £1,130,000. In January 2007, he was named the "2006 Business Leader of the Year" by the World Leadership Forum for his efforts in restoring the fortunes of Marks & Spencer. He was

in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to the retail industry and to corporate social responsibility, and was appointed chairman of

Business in the Community Business in the Community (BITC) is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, Corporate social responsibility, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the The Prince's Charities, Prince's Charities of Cha ...

on 1 January 2008. In 2008, Rose became executive chairman of Marks & Spencer. However, in the light of a recent profits warning, which sparked an unprecedented thirty per cent-plus plunge in the company's shares, this appointment caused some concern to many shareholders. Nevertheless, they voted to re-appoint him at their annual meeting on 9 July 2008. He stepped down as chief executive in May 2010, as executive chairman in July 2010, and as chairman in January 2011 following the appointment of Robert Swannell. On 19 January 2011, Rose was appointed as a non-executive director of Woolworths Holdings Ltd, a large South African retail group listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. On 6 September 2012, Rose was appointed as non-executive chairman of Dressipi.com, an online personalised fashion service that matches clothes and accessories to a shopper's shape, style and individual preferences. In 2013, Rose became an independent non-executive director and chairman of Ocado, the UK internet-only grocery retailer. He was recruited to advise the government on turning around failing hospitals, asked to examine how to improve the organisational culture in under-performing hospitals and ways to recruit talent from inside and outside the NHS in February 2014. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Rose was created a

and took a seat on the Conservative benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. In October 2015, Rose was appointed chair of

, the official remain campaign in the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. After stating to a select committee in March 2016 that wages would go up should Britain leave the European Union, his public role was allegedly limited for the rest of the campaign. In 2019, Rose dismissed calls for a second referendum, stating that he 'believes in a democratic process', despite being a Remainer. In 2015 Rose became Chairman of Time Out Market, owned by Time Out Group. On 14 July 2020, Rose stepped down from his role as chairman of Ocado. As of 2020 Rose chaired privately held businesses including Dressipi, an online fashion start-up, and Zenith, a vehicle-leasing and fleet management company. On 21 January 2021, Rose was appointed non-executive chairman of

EG Group EG Group Limited is a British operator of filling stations, convenience stores and Fast-food restaurant, food service providers across Europe, the United States and Australia. It was founded in Blackburn in 2001 by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Iss ...

. On 23 November 2021, Rose was appointed chairman of Asda as its first dedicated chairman in more than 20 years. On 19 September 2024, Rose was appointed as co-chief executive of Asda, alongside TDR Capital's Rob Hattrell.

Personal life

His mother, who had a history of depression, committed suicide at the age of 49 by taking an overdose combined with alcohol when Rose was 26 years old. Rose lives in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. He married Jennifer Cook in 1973 in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

. They had one son and one daughter. After they separated, Rose lived with fashion writer Kate Reardon. Then, after separating from Reardon in 2009, and stepping down from his positions at M&S, Rose and Cook divorced in 2010. On 16 July 2010, Rose was given an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LL.D) from the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, the same university from which his son graduated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Stuart 1949 births British retail chief executives People educated at Bootham School English businesspeople in fashion English businesspeople in retailing English people of Greek descent English chief executives English people of Russian descent English people of Scottish descent Knights Bachelor Living people People from Gosport Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II People associated with Heriot-Watt University People associated with the University of Leeds Businesspeople awarded knighthoods