Tesco executive Jason Tarry has been identified as a possible replacement for Morrisons boss David Potts, according to City sources.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), the US private equity firm that owns Morrisons, is using headhunter Egon Zehnder to find candidates for a number of senior roles at the supermarket.
That includes finding a replacement for chief operating officer Trevor Strain, who left last year.
Sources said a number of candidates have also been singled out as potential chief executives, including some who have already been approached by the headhunters.
One source said an announcement on Potts’ replacement could be ‘imminent’, although the length of executive contracts means it could take up to a year for a new boss to be installed.
Possible replacement: Jason Tarry is chief commercial officer at Tesco, by far the biggest grocer in Britain
Tarry is chief commercial officer at Tesco, by far the biggest grocer in Britain. He has previously worked with Potts, who is 66 in March. He is also a former colleague of Morrisons chairman Sir Terry Leahy, who ran Tesco until 2011.
Morrisons has come under fire since the takeover by private equity in 2021 because its sales growth has fallen behind rivals.
Critics say CD&R has loaded too much debt on to Morrisons. They fear it may struggle to meet interest payments as the base rate rises and that it may be forced to sell off property to raise cash.
Potts said in January that last year was ‘one of transition’ and he expected the company’s performance to improve. Morrisons declined to comment.
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