Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s, has been appointed as the new President of IGD by its Board of Trustees. He will replace Jason Tarry, who announced in October last year that he would be stepping down from his role as UK & ROI CEO of Tesco.
IGD noted that during his tenure, Tarry has played a critical role in “energetically galvanising” the industry’s leadership and creating an open environment within the organisation’s CEO Forum.
Roberts, who is already an active member of IGD’s CEO Forum, will take over the Presidency position on 1 March 2024, having held a wide range of roles at M&S and Boots before becoming CEO of Sainsbury’s in 2020.
“Many thanks to Jason for the huge levels of commitment, guidance and enthusiasm he has brought to the role of IGD President. I’m particularly thankful for the support he has given me personally during the transition to my new role at IGD,” said Sarah Bradbury, CEO of IGD.
“Jason has also shown great support for our ambition to become the essential partner to a thriving food and consumer goods industry; he passes the baton to Simon at a critical time, when the work we do in bringing our industry together to tackle the big issues has never been more important.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with Simon, who has a huge breadth of industry experience and is already a great supporter and advocate of our work at IGD.”
Roberts added: “On behalf of the UK grocery industry, we thank Jason Tarry for his leadership in driving forward such an important agenda. IGD has a vital role to play in bringing the industry together to tackle the big issues we face and in helping us work towards creating a more resilient and sustainable food system for everybody.
“We can only achieve impactful change through collaboration and partnership across our industry, and I’m excited about working with Sarah and all the members of the IGD to find innovative solutions which will make a genuine difference for all our colleagues, customers, suppliers and partners.”
NAM Implications:
- ‘Achieve impactful change through collaboration and partnership across our industry’
- This says it all…
- …in one of the most unprecedented eras in IGD’s history.
