Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy to retire
Tesco has announced that chief executive Sir Terry Leahy is to retire from the supermarket chain next March.
Sir Terry has led the chain for 14 years and has overseen its rise to become the UK’s leading supermarket.
He is to be replaced by international and IT director Philip Clarke, who said he was “honoured and delighted” to succeed Sir Terry.
Sir Terry, who earned £5.2m last year, said he would retain a large shareholding in Tesco.
Tesco shares slipped 2.4% after the announcement was made.
‘Unrivalled contribution’
“When I became chief executive I had a plan to build Tesco around its customers, to make it number one in the UK and to find new long-term growth in non-food, in services and in international expansion,” Sir Terry said.
“It has taken 14 years but that strategy has become a firm reality now and so I feel my work is almost complete.”
He said he would concentrate on “private investment” after his retirement.
Tesco’s chairman David Reid said that Sir Terry had made “an unrivalled contribution over a prolonged period. He is undoubtedly one of the leading businessmen of his generation”.
Mr Clarke has worked for Tesco for many years and joined the board in 1998. He currently has responsibility for the supermarket’s Asian and European operations, as well as for IT.
Collins Stewart analyst Greg Lawless said: “Phil Clarke is Tesco through and through. He’s been running the international business well and was seen as one of the leading internal candidates.”
Bumper profits
Tesco has become far more than just a supermarket under the stewardship of Sir Terry. It now offers a wide range of services, including insurance, broadband internet, credit cards and Child Trust Funds.
The company employs almost half a million staff worldwide, 250,000 of which are in the UK. It has about 2,500 stores in the UK.
In the year to the end of February, the company made a pre-tax profit of £3.2bn, 10% up on the previous year.
Source : BBC News
