The business on: Marc Bolland, Chief executive, Marks & Spencer

Ah, the new boy

That's right. Mr Bolland took the top job at M&S in May and today faces his first annual general meeting of shareholders.

Will he get a warm welcome?

Maybe a little too warm. M&S's shareholders have a tradition of questioning the company's leaders in – how shall we put it? – robust fashion. Mr Bolland can expect a rough ride over the £15m pay package the retailer offered him in order to persuade him to jump ship from supermarket group Morrisons.

Is he worth it?

We'll see – having only been in the role for three months, it's too early to say. Still, he did a pretty decent job at Morrisons despite some scepticism about his appointment in 2006. People didn't like the fact he'd never worked in retail before, but he won them over by improving the grocer's sales and market share.

How did he manage that?

"Retail is detail", as they say in the trade. Mr Bolland has a reputation for an almost obsessive attention to the little things, spending much of his time walking the shop floor and working out ways to do things better. He's not bad at marketing either, comprehensively overhauling the tired Morrisons brand.

Still, isn't M&S a little more upmarket?

Probably. But though Mr Bolland spent two decades working at Heineken, he's hardly a lager lout. The urbane Dutchman speaks a string of languages, likes a bit of decent tailoring and drives an Aston Martin.

Did you say Dutch?

Yes. Got a problem with that? M&S may be a great British institution but it needs great leadership, too. And predictions of a culture clash with Morrisons' bluff Northern founder, Sir Ken Morrison, proved wide of the mark. The pair of them were the best of friends, dining in the staff canteen on fish and chips together.

Sounds like the man for M&S?

Let's hope so. That £15m pay packet is eye-watering – shareholders will let him know if he disappoints.