Tesco confirms that retail heavyweight Gerry Murphy will replace the beleaguered John Allan as chairman
- Murphy is currently chairman of luxury clothing chain Burberry and Tate & Lyle
- The businessman was also the CEO of Kingfisher and Greencore
- Former Tesco chairman John Allan has received four allegations of misconduct
Gerry Murphy has been confirmed as Tesco’s next chairman, replacing John Allan after he resigned following allegations of unprofessional conduct.
Murphy, 67, is currently chairman of luxury clothing chain Burberry and food supplier Tate & Lyle, but will step down in early September to take up his duties at Tesco.
He has an extensive track record of business leadership and was CEO of B&Q owner Kingfisher, Carlton Communications, Irish sandwich maker Greencore and logistics company Exel prior to the acquisition by DHL.
New boss: Gerry Murphy (pictured) has been announced as Tesco’s next chairman
Following these roles, he spent more than a decade at private equity firm Blackstone and held non-executive directorships at Intertrust Group, British American Tobacco, Legoland operator Merlin Entertainments, and Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser.
Tesco has been without a permanent chairman since its annual general meeting in mid-June, when John Allan left after eight years as chairman.
A report from The Guardian two months ago accused Allan of inappropriate behavior at Tesco’s annual AGM last year and at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual dinner in May 2019 when he was the organisation’s president.
It also alleged that he made inappropriate statements on those occasions, in addition to making separate comments about female CBI employees in November 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Allan has denied all but one allegation – he acknowledged making a comment in late 2019 to a CBI employee about her dress that she found offensive.
Murphy paid tribute to Allan on Monday, telling investors he had left the supermarket giant in “excellent shape and ready for the future.”
Byron Gote, interim chairman at Tesco, said Murphy would bring a “record of strong and effective leadership to the boardroom and a deep understanding of retail and consumer-focused businesses and corporate governance.”
The Irish businessman arrives at the FTSE 100 retailer amid fears the grocery sector is ‘benefiting’ from rising food inflation, which rose to its highest level in 45 years this spring.
Tesco’s commercial guide, Gordon Gafa, responded to such suggestions in front of MPs last week, claiming the group was at its ‘most competitive’, earning just four pence for every pound.
Shortly afterwards, Tesco announced it would lower the prices of 500 everyday items, such as pasta, milk and peppers, to help consumers with the cost of living crisis.
Since mid-May, the Competition Authority has been investigating whether markets or supermarkets charge customers too much for food and fuel.
On Monday, the watchdog published findings of a study showing that drivers will pay nearly £1bn more for petrol and diesel at supermarket filling stations by 2022 due to higher margins.
It called on the UK government to create a scheme where drivers can compare prices in real time from different stations on their mobile phones or sat navs.
Tesco shares were up 0.5 percent early Monday afternoon at 249.7 pence and are up 9 percent year-to-date.