Tesco masterplan? New boss keeps investors and staff guessing

When Phil Clarke was sacked as Tesco’s CEO, senior executives hoped his 0700 strategy meetings would go with him. They did – new boss Dave Lewis starts his at 0630.

Parachuted in from Unilever in September, Lewis soon faced the task of making the shock announcement that a GBP250 million (USD391 million) hole had been found in Tesco’s profits, in an accounting scandal that led to the departure of several senior executives.

Now the CEO – despite having no direct retail experience – is keeping management on a tight rein and personally taking charge of key areas of the business, sources say. And as he conducts a vast review of Tesco’s operations to come up with a strategy to revive its fortunes, he is giving little away – even to insiders.