Tesco has begun headhunting for a director of corporate development.
The role is to be assumed into its in-house corporate finance devision, which will, as part of the ongoing personnel shake-up, report to Alan Stewart, Tesco's finance director, and group strategy director Benny Higgins, the CEO of Tesco Bank.
Lewis has already initiated a recruitment drive, and several senior bankers have been contacted with regard to their suitability and availability for the role.
The HR strengthening in Tesco's financial department coincides is part of Lewis's large-scale restructuring of the retailer, which incorporates also a streamlining of its senior management: the Financial Times estimates that the number of top management positions will drop from about 150 to circa 100.
When, earlier this month, Lewis published his intentions to shorten the grocer's list of operations – the selling of BlinkBox, its former video-on-demand service, for example – he stated adamantly that there is "absolutely no way in the world, and no need at all, for there to be any sort of fire sale," in reference to the rapid rate at which its sales are falling.
He also stated he is "committed to keeping all of the operations we have overseas, until we make any decisions otherwise."
On Wednesday, Tesco announced that it is to close 43 stores across the UK, that could see up to 2,000 job losses.
The store closures include 18 Express, 12 Metro, seven superstores and six Homeplus outlets.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly
