Tesco appoints Allan as chairman

Tesco has handed the £650,000-a-year chairman role to Dixons Carphone chief John Allan, scotching speculation that former Asda chairman Archie Norman was being lined up for the post.
Succeeding Richard Broadbent, who will step down from the board, Allan will take up the position on March 1.
He started his career in marketing at Lever Bros and Bristol-Myers, then joined Fine Fare as retail director for marketing, buying and retail operations.
Allan then had spells at BET, Ocean Group and finally Excel, which was acquired by Deutsche Post in 2005. He eventually became chief financial officer of Deutsche Post until he retired and returned to the UK in 2009.
Allan became chairman of Dixons Retail in September 2009, overseeing a comprehensive turnaround programme, which culminated in the merger with Carphone Warehouse in August 2014. He is currently deputy chairman, as well as chairman of Barratt Developments and Worldpay. He also sits on the Royal Mail board.
Tesco senior independent director Patrick Cescau said: “Following a deep and thorough process run by a committee of independent non-executive directors, the board unanimously agreed that John Allan was the right candidate to chair Tesco at this important time. On behalf of the board I would like to thank Richard for his work as chairman. He has served the business with unflinching commitment through a period of unprecedented change, and put in place a new senior leadership team for the next stage of Tesco’s development.”
Allan, who will step down at Dixons Carphone and Royal Mail, but remain at Barratt Developments and WorldPay, said: “I’m very pleased to be taking on this role at such a critical moment for the business and look forward to working with the new executive team and the board.”

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