Who is Dave Lewis? Five things to know about new Tesco chief
Tesco's Philip Clarke replaced by Unilever executive Dave Lewis following worst performance in years
It's all change at Tesco, as chief executive Philip Clarke steps down and makes way for Dave Lewis, the head of Unilever's personal care division. Lewis will take up the role on 1 October with a £1.25m salary and a £525,000 cash sum in lieu of his Unilever bonus.
The move comes after Tesco reported that sales and trading profit for the first half of the year were "somewhat below expectations". Clarke admitted last month that Tesco's trading in the first quarter was the worst performance he had seen at the retailer in four decades – so Lewis certainly has a challenge on his hands.
But just who is Lewis and can he turn around the ailing retailer?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Unilever lifer
Lewis has had a long career at Unilever, the multinational company behind hundreds of consumer products, from Flora and Wall's ice cream to Vaseline and Domestos. He joined the company as a graduate trainee in 1987 and moved up the ranks, launching Dove in the UK in 1992 and holding a variety of senior roles including president for the Americas and chairman of Unilever UK and Ireland. He also became an independent non-executive director of BSkyB in November 2012. Veteran retail analyst Nick Bubb says Dave Lewis "knows nothing about retailing" but says this might not matter. "As a leading supplier he certainly knows how to win price wars and perhaps that is the big issue now facing Tesco in the UK," he tells The Guardian.
First chief executive from outside Tesco
The announcement of Clarke's departure comes just a day before he was due to attend a party to celebrate his 40th year at Tesco, according to the Financial Times. In contrast, Lewis will be the first chief executive of Tesco who has not come from within the company. Nevertheless, Sir Richard Broadbent, chairman of Tesco, says Lewis knows the supermarket chain well. "He knows the brand. He knows consumers. He is the right person to bring that perspective," he said. City investors appear hopeful about the appointment, as shares in Tesco jumped as much as three per cent in volatile early trading today.
International experience
Lewis brings with him a "wealth of international consumer experience", according to today's statement from Tesco. He has worked in Europe, South America and Asia. He led a period of growth in household care across Latin America in the 1990s and grew Unilever's Indonesian business by 30 per cent a year, despite political unrest in the region. He also took an advanced management programme at Harvard University.
Known as 'Drastic Dave'
According to The Grocer, Lewis earned the nickname "Drastic Dave" after restructuring Unilever UK in 2007. After becoming chairman of Unilever UK, Lewis streamlined the company, with 40 per cent of the cost slashed from the business and over 300 jobs cut. As a result, Lewis was credited with a turnaround of the business, with the performances of brands such as Ben & Jerry's, PG Tips, Flora and Surf proving that his actions "paid dividends", says The Grocer. He also began building what he described as "Team Unilever", inviting inspirational speakers to talk with employees about team spirit and introducing Unilever-branded rugby shirts for staff.
Sports mad
Lewis has been described as "sports mad", taking part in the London Marathon and Unilever's annual triathlon. In 2008, he was even appointed by the Conservative Party to chair a working group on how business and government should tackle public health issues such as obesity – despite being the man behind ice cream brands such as Wall's, Magnum and Ben & Jerry's. Lewis told the Daily Mail at the time that nutrition and healthy eating was taken "very seriously" for all of Unilever's food brands.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Epic meltdown'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
The World of Tim Burton: a 'creepy, witty and visually ravishing' exhibition
The Week Recommends Sprawling show at the Design Museum features over 600 exhibits from across the directors' five-decade career from early sketches to costumes and props
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: October 31, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Biblical' toad plague causes pile up
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Youngsters shun gravy at Christmas
And other stories from stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Can Alan Partridge save ponies from extinction?
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
The things Tesco workers wish they could tell customers
Speed Read And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Book shop releases unisex book fragrance
Speed Read And other stories from the stranger side of life
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What is changing at Tesco?
Speed Read Up to 9,000 jobs at risk as supermarket giant closes fresh food counters
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Tesco ditches fruit and veg best-before dates
Speed Read Almost 200 products will lose freshness guidelines in war on waste
By The Week Staff Published
-
Pineapple replaces avocado as UK’s fastest selling fruit
In Depth Supermarkets say tropical fruit is UK’s new favourite with sales surging 15% in 2017
By The Week Staff Published