Happy retirement Sir Terry – and thanks for choosing the IT guy!

Sir Terry Leahy announced his forthcoming retirement today; from next March his role will be taken by Philip Clarke, who is currently Tesco’s international and IT director.

That’s right: in an all-too-rare event, the IT man has made it to the top – it will be great knowing that Tesco will be run by someone who totally understands the computer systems that keeps our company agile and soaring at top-flight.

All of us are sad to see Sir Terry go, of course. Company-wide, staff have such respect for the man who enabled Tesco to provide a greater supermarket experience, head into overseas territories, onto the internet, into catalogues, sell a far wider product range than food, and provide services from a mobile phone network to banking.

Indeed, through the journey Sir Terry has taken us on, I have long stopped thinking of Tesco as a ‘supermarket’. We have become far greater: an ‘international retail brand’.

Now he’s handing over to the IT guy. Fantastic!

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