Tesco appoints Gerry Murphy to replace John Allan as chairman

Gerry Murphy has been confirmed as Tesco’s next chairman, replacing John Allan after he resigned following allegations of unprofessional behaviour.

Murphy, 67, currently chairs luxury clothing retailer Burberry and food supplier Tate & Lyle but will stand down from the latter at the start of September in order to fulfil his duties at Tesco.

He has an extensive track record of business leadership, having been chief executive of B&Q owner Kingfisher, Carlton Communications, Irish sandwich manufacturer Greencore, and logistics firm Exel prior to its acquisition by DHL.

New boss: Gerry Murphy (pictured) has been announced as the next chairman of Tesco

Following these roles, he spent over 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 chair since its annual general meeting in mid-June when John Allan departed after eight years as chair.

A report by the Guardian two months ago accused Allan of inappropriate conduct during Tesco’s annual AGM last year and at the yearly dinner of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in May 2019, when he was the organisation’s president.

It also alleged he made inappropriate statements on those occasions, in addition to separate comments towards female CBI staff members in November 2019 and in 2021, respectively.

Allan has denied all allegations apart from one – he acknowledged making a remark in late 2019 towards 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 ‘great shape and fit for the future’.

Byron Gote, interim chair at Tesco, said Murphy would bring a ‘record of strong and effective boardroom leadership and a deep understanding of retail and consumer-focused businesses and corporate governance’.

The Irish businessman will arrive at the FTSE 100 retailer amid concerns that the grocery sector is ‘profiteering’ from soaring food inflation, which rose to its highest level for 45 years this spring.

Tesco’s commercial directory, Gordon Gafa, hit back at such suggestions in front of MPs last week, claiming the group was at its ‘most competitive’ and was making just four pence for every pound.

Soon afterwards, Tesco declared it would cut prices on 500 everyday items, such as pasta, milk and peppers, to help consumers with the cost-of-living crisis.

Since mid-May, the Competition and Markets Authority has been looking into whether supermarkets are charging customers too much for food and fuel.

On Monday, the watchdog published findings from an investigation showing drivers paid almost £1billion more for petrol and diesel at supermarket service stations in 2022 because of increased margins.

It called on the UK government to create a scheme whereby drivers could compare prices in real-time from different stations on their mobile phones or satnavs.

Tesco shares were 0.5 per cent higher at 249.7p on early Monday afternoon and have grown by 9 per cent since the start of the year.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk