Tesco has named retail veteran Gerry Murphy as its new chair to replace John Allan who stepped down last month following allegations of misconduct.
The former Kingfisher boss and current chair at Burberry Group and Tate & Lyle will start his new role on the grocery giant‘s board on 1 September.
Murphy said he’d be stepping down from his position at Tate & Lyle to “ensure he has sufficient capacity to act as chair of Tesco”.
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“Tesco has a very important role to play in its markets, serving customers, communities and the planet a little better every day,” he added.
“I’m fully committed to helping Ken and the Tesco team deliver on this purpose and very excited about the strategic opportunities for growth across the Tesco group.”
Paying tribute to his predecessor, he said: “John has left Tesco with its business, management and board in great shape and fit for the future.”
Allan, who had been chair since 2015, left the grocery giant in June amid claims of inappropriate behaviour towards four women.
Three of these allegations were vigorously denied by Allan, for the other he has “unreservedly apologised” for the other, a comment made about a woman’s dress at an event in 2019.
The grocer added at the time of his resignation that “while we have received no complaints about John’s conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco.”
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