Ian MacLaurin is a prime example of someone who moved up the retailing ladder. During his career he made a dramatic rise from trainee store manager to peer of the realm! Born in Blackheath, Kent in 1937, Ian was educated at Shrewsbury House Prep School and Malvern College. Following National Service he was a trainee salesman at a firm of domestic appliance manufacturers. Ian joined Tesco at the age of 22, following a chance meeting with its founder Sir Jack Cohen. Ian progressed from warehouse boy to regional managing director and to the board in 1970. In 1973 he was made managing director. In 1985 he became chairman, the first non-Cohen family member to do so, and oversaw major changes including a series of acquisitions and the introduction of the Clubcard. Under Ian's leadership, Tesco developed from a pile it high, sell it cheap' philosophy to become one of Britain's top supermarket chains. He was knighted in 1989, became a working life peer in 1996 and was also president of IGD between 1989 and 1992. "Looking back, I realise that I've been on one long learning curve. There was no such thing as a training programme when I started as the first management trainee ­ a title that clearly was a bit of a misnomer! I had to learn the business from the bottom up and could never have imagined where I would end up. Now there are so many opportunities for people entering this dynamic industry, I would encourage them to take every advantage of them. There is no future in standing still," said Lord MacLaurin, adding: "I loved every minute of my time with Tesco." {{Z SUPPLEMENTS }}