Making Tesco #1: Sir Terry Leahy

Sir Terry Leahy was born on February 1956, in Liverpool, England. Coming from a humble working class family, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. He then began his career at Tesco the British supermarket chain in 1979 as a trainee, marketing executive.

He rose through the ranks until he became the CEO in 1997. His rise was due to the successful marketing initiatives he developed which helped the company grow.  One was adopting the new two store format. The first was Tesco Metro, located on busy streets and urban residential areas, focusing on fresh and prepared foods. The second Tesco Express offered gasoline and convenience store. Leahy is also credited with the loyalty-card program for frequent customers. This was a first in retail grocery and was highly successful after its 1995 launch.

When he reached the CEO position he made further innovations such as launching hypermarkets, as well as offering new financial services. After conquering the UK market Tesco expanded overseas with presences in Europe, Asia, and America.

Under Leahy’s stewardship Tesco has had record profits since 2001 when it first breached the £1 billion profit mark. It registered £3.4 billion in profit in 2010. Sir Leahy stepped down in 2011 after 14 year at the helm of Tesco and turning it into a local and international supermarket chain giant.