People: Tesco's new agriculture director and retail's main job moves in July

Its creation of the post last month can be seen as a tacit admission that its strained relationship with the farming community needs mending in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.

The fact that Tesco felt the need to appoint former NFU man Tom Hind as agriculture director shows the extent to which the sphere of influence of the supermarkets has grown in recent years. Gone are the days when suppliers’ only contact with the retailer was a buyer dictating terms down a telephone line. Suppliers dealing with Hind’s new agriculture team will find themselves working with experts in every area of farming including proteins, fishing and horticulture whose remit is to develop sustainable farming groups, uphold animal welfare standards and minimise waste in the supply chain.

Rightly or wrongly, Tesco copped the greatest share of the flak over the horsemeat scandal and it has a job to do to win back the trust of both its consumers and suppliers. The recent commitment made by boss Philip Clarke to build a more transparent supply chain is the first step towards Tesco’s rehabilitation and it’s encouraging that Clarke appreciates that a people strategy is key to the process of managing this change. After all, how could Tesco expect to strengthen supply chain relationships without hiring experts with the skills and experience needed to carry out the task?

The appointment of Hind looks like an especially canny move. He is a well-respected figure in British agriculture having worked at the NFU for 15 years, most recently as corporate affairs director, and understands the concerns of farmers having lobbied on their behalf. If Hind can act as effective mediator between the Tesco commercial team and farmers he will have gone a long way to ensuring the role of agriculture director remains a permanent one.

The sector’s other key job moves in the last month can be seen on the table to the right.