Kate Swann’s revelation this morning that she is stepping down as chief executive at book and stationery retailer WHSmith was a surprise only in its timing as analysts commented that after nine years at the helm it was just a case of when Swann would fly the nest.

“I thought that if Kate were to leave WHSmith, she’d be poached,” Conlumino analyst Matt Piner says.

With Swann due to depart the business in June 2013, when she hands over to right hand man, current managing director for the high street Steve Clarke, she has lots of time to weigh up her options for her next move.

“She’ll be on most people’s hit list for retail jobs,” says Peel Hunt analyst John Stevenson.

Piner believes she is likely to stay within retail and will look for a top role at another large British firm.

“She’s got investors on side which is such an important piece of the jigsaw and will be attractive to potential employers,” he adds.

Her long tenure at WHSmith followed a string of top jobs as she headed Home Retail-owned Argos from 2000 to 2003 after a stint at sister company Homebase as marketing director where she worked her way to managing director.

Swann started off as a fledgling graduate trainee at Tesco in 1989 and worked her way through marketing roles at Homepride Foods, Coca Cola and Dixons. So, with a career steeped in retail, it is likely to be a familiar place which she may choose to stay.

Independent analyst Nick Bubb believes she may even return to one of her previous companies.

“I think she will look for a big UK retail job, maybe even going to Home Retail where she used to work,” he says. “The knives are out for managing director Terry Duddy, so it could make sense.”

Indeed, Duddy has been criticised for not addressing the large store portfolio at the struggling retailer, which many analysts believe needs to be slashed in order to help turn the business around.

Bubb hints that Tesco could even be in the frame. “She lives near Bishops Stortford where the new Tesco superstore is located,” he adds.

Conlumino analyst Matt Piner also suggests Home Retail as a possibility, also mentioning Marks & Spencer as a potential move. The department store retailer has recently shifted around its management team to boost the fashion and general merchandise categories and may want to bolster the team with further retail experience.

Piner says: “My feeling is she will move to another big heritage name or she will go to head up a smaller but rapidly growing retailer.”

But Peel Hunt analyst John Stevenson suggests private equity could be her next challenge.

“I think she will want a bigger role to move on to or a private equity role,” he comments. “She is coming out of a successful chief executive role and she may prefer to step into private equity and out of the spotlight.”

Famously private, Swann is likely to keep any future career moves close to her chest. But as speculation mounts on where Swann is going to spread her wings, one thing is for sure, she won’t be short of offers.

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