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Tesco appoints new chairman following the resignation of former boss
https://www.whatjobs.com/news/united-kingdom/uk-business-news/tesco-appoints-new-chairman-following-the-resignation-of-former-boss
Tesco has announced the appointment of a new chairman after its former chairman stepped down due to allegations regarding his behavior.
Gerry Murphy, the current chairman of luxury fashion brand Burberry, will take over from John Allan starting in September.
Mr. Allan has strongly denied three out of four claims made against him by four women.
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However, Tesco stated that these allegations risked becoming a distraction to the company. Consequently, Mr. Allan decided to step down from his role.
In response to his appointment, Mr. Murphy expressed his delight at joining the supermarket giant and paid tribute to Mr. Allan, whom he had known for many years.
To ensure he can fully commit to his role as chairman of Tesco, Mr. Murphy will step down from his position as chairman of ingredients maker Tate & Lyle in September.
Read More: Tesco chairman John Allan resigns after conduct allegations
He brings a wealth of experience, having served as a non-executive director of companies such as British American Tobacco, Merlin Entertainments, and Reckitt Benckiser.
He most recently held the position of group chief executive at Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix.
The allegations against Mr. Allan were first reported by The Guardian in May, which claimed that he had touched a Tesco employee at the company's annual shareholder meeting in 2020.
Read More: Tesco chair accused of inappropriate behaviour by four women
It was also alleged that he had grabbed an employee at an event hosted by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in 2019.
Mr. Allan denied these claims, stating that they were untrue. Another allegation involved a comment he made about a CBI staff member's appearance in 2021, which he did not recall.
However, he admitted to making an inappropriate comment to a female CBI worker in 2019 and immediately apologized.
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Board member Byron Grote, who was interim chairman before Mr Murphy's appointment, said in May Tesco had made "no findings of wrongdoing" against Mr Allan.
Following the announcement, he said: "He was the unanimous choice of the board and will bring to our Board a record of strong and effective boardroom leadership and a deep understanding of retail and consumer-focused businesses and corporate governance.
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