Tesco Retail Services appoints CEO

Tesco finance and strategy director Andy Higginson looks to be a contender for a future group CEO role at supermarkets giant Tesco, with his appointment in late July as chief executive of the newly created Retailing Services business.

Leaving his role as finance director after 11 years’ faithful service (and therefore, most probably, his membership of The Hundred Group of Finance Directors) but retaining his group-wide strategy powers and position on the board, Higginson moves to preside over Tesco’s burgeoning non-food business, comprising financial services, telecoms and internet shopping. Currently, these businesses bring in £400m each year – but Higginson’s mandate is to bump that up to £1bn annually.

The FD’s appointment came on the heels of Tesco’s £950m buyout of the 50% stake in its personal finance business owned by Royal Bank of Scotland. Tesco’s strategy is to exploit the crunch and monetise its ever more price-conscious customers to become a full-service retail bank. As the in-house number cruncher and a power player in the world of UK FTSE-100 FDs, Higginson is well placed to make it fly. Higginson will also recruit and manage a new team including a CEO and FD for Tesco Personal Finance (TPF), and a CEO for Tesco Telecoms. RBS retail finance scion Benny Higgins joins him to run TPF, while the troubled bank’s head of cards and direct finance, Iain Clink, joins as TPF FD. It’s a coup on several counts for Tesco.

So rare is it that a FTSE-100 FD leaves the finance function completely, we think it could be the start of something big not only for Tesco, but equally for Higginson. He’s been given the opportunity to show his mettle managing a business that Tesco has made clear is crucial to its world domination master-plan, and amid the most challenging consumer environment for years. If Higginson isn’t actively being groomed for future occupation of the CEO spot – though we’ve no idea if Sir Terry Leahy has any intentions of moving on, up, or out – he’ll surely be ready for a group CEO job after this gig.

• Higginson will open our fourth annual Financial Director Summit on 25th-26th September at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire – see www.financialdirector.co.uk/summit08 for details – and look out for our exclusive interview with the former FD in Financial Director this autumn.