Tesco’s central Europe CEO Matt Simister is leaving the supermarket giant after 30 years with the company.
Simister is to become group chief executive of European petfood giant Fressnapf, which operates in around a dozen countries in Europe.
Tesco group CEO Ken Murphy paid tribute to the “significant contribution” made by Simister to the retailer.
His previous roles with the company include being UK director of meat, fish & poultry, and household, before going on to become international grocery buying director.
Simister was group food commercial director from 2010 to 2015 and won widespread praise for the way he handled being caught up in the 2014 Tesco financial scandal.
Simister was fully exonerated after an internal investigation that saw eight executives asked to step aside, but was swiftly brought back by then boss Dave Lewis.
He was widely regarded as a driving force behind the rejuvenation of Tesco’s fresh food offer, and also played a key role in Tesco’s industry-leading battle against food waste, later becoming Tesco’s CEO for Europe in April 2017.
Simister will leave Tesco in August, with a search already underway for his replacement.
“Matt has made a significant contribution to Tesco in his role on the group exec, leading our business in central Europe and developing our commercial capability across the group,” said Murphy.
“I want to say a huge thank you for everything he has done for us over such a long career.”
“As CEO of Tesco Central Europe, Matt has reshaped and modernised the business and will leave a European business that is fit for the next generation of customers, significantly more productive and ready for long-term growth.
“Knowing Matt, I suspect he is most proud of the team he has built and the huge progress to make Tesco a great place to work for colleagues in central Europe.
“During his time in commercial, Matt built our group food sourcing capability and put in place the partnership approach which underpins the way we work with suppliers today.
“He also introduced and led our direct sourcing and commodity risk management, as well as pioneered our work to reduce food waste – a major contribution that we will continue to benefit from into the future.”
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