The appointment of Martin Scicluna as its new chairman feels like a safe play from Sainsbury’s.
Scicluna will officially take over as chairman in March 2019, following a five-month handover period with outgoing chairman David Tyler. In this time he will sit on the board as chairman designate and a non-executive director.
Scicluna does not have any significant connection to the retail sector but he is highly respected in City circles and boasts a wealth of boardroom experience.
He currently serves as chairman both of RSA Insurance Group, which owns the More Than brand, and of property investor Great Portland Estates. He spent the bulk of his career as a partner, and latterly chairman, of Deloitte.
Add in senior roles at Worldpay and Lloyds Banking Group, and you can see why Sainsbury’s has turned to Scicluna to provide leadership and strategic counsel at a critical time in its recent history.
“As a huge Arsenal fan, Scicluna is used to competing as part of a ‘big four’ (until recently, at least)”
Regarded as extremely loyal to the businesses he serves, Scicluna is known for his ability to turn around performance. While Sainsbury’s is far from a turnaround job, the business certainly faces some significant challenges.
Top of the agenda for Scicluna will be the approval of the retailer’s mega-merger with Asda, but his tenure will also be shaped by how Sainsbury’s navigates the fundamental changes happening in the retail sector as well as the eventual fallout from Brexit (food supply chains are most in peril from a ‘no deal’ outcome).
As a huge Arsenal fan, Scicluna is used to competing as part of a ‘big four’ (until recently, at least), but if the Asda deal goes ahead the combined entity will leapfrog Tesco into the number one spot in grocery retail, making Scicluna one of the most influential chairs in UK business.
Finally, I would like to send my best wishes for a speedy recovery to Charles Wilson after he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Such news not only puts our own work lives into perspective, but the sincere reaction to it by so many industry colleagues shows the great respect and solidarity that exists within our sector.
Content provided by Anthony Gregg Partnership.
You can call Tony Gregg on 01564 796830 or email him at tony@anthonygregg.com.
Founded in 2003 and located in Henley-in-Arden and London, The Anthony Gregg Partnership specialises in the consumer search market space.
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