Tesco has announced Booker chief operating officer Jonny McQuarrie is to take over as its CEO of central Europe, to succeed Matt Simister.
McQuarrie, who previously served as managing director of Tesco’s One Stop business, is also a well-known figure in Tesco’s UK supermarket operations, having been with the retailer for nearly 25 years.
He has also held roles as Tesco retail director for south England and headed both its London operations and national Extra operations among other roles in his long career with the supermarket giant.
McQuarrie left his role as One Stop to take up his role at Booker in October 2022, replacing Andrew Muldoon.
In a note to staff today, Tesco group CEO Ken Murphy said McQuarrie brought with him a wealth of experience and track record growing businesses and as a “truly people-focused leader, developing talent and capability”.
He described McQuarrie as “the ideal candidate to lead our businesses in central Europe”.
Booker has been a sales powerhouse for Tesco since it completed its controversial acquisition in 2018, though sales fell 1.8% in the full-year results up to February, announced in April.
Earlier this month, Tesco revealed Simister was leaving the supermarket giant after 30 years with the company, to become group chief executive of European petfood giant Fressnapf, which operates in around a dozen countries in Europe.
Simister was group food commercial director from 2010 to 2015 and was widely regarded as a driving force behind the rejuvenation of Tesco’s fresh food offer. He also played a key role in Tesco’s industry-leading battle against food waste, later becoming its CEO for Europe in April 2017.
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.
Tesco said Simister would work with McQuarrie in next few weeks, including on visits to Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary.
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