I should have guessed something momentous was going to happen as soon as the editor booked his holiday - last time Adam was away, Andy Bond announced he was stepping down as CEO.
Now Sir Terry Leahy has declared he's off to focus on private investment.
Quite what investment, the Tesco insider I spoke to couldn't or wouldn't say, but he was confident Tesco had pulled the whole thing off seamlessly and that there wouldn't be any dissent in the senior ranks.
"It's a collegiate place to be," he boasted unfortunately just before one 'student' dropped out.
Colin Holmes jacked in his job on Wednesday, just a day after Sir Terry's exit and the accompanying management shake-up was announced.
The commercial director for fresh foods' departure may not spark speculation about the futures of Brasher and Mason, both of whom had been touted as potential heirs to the throne and, insists Tesco, are delighted with their newly expanded remits. But what of Higginson and McIlwee? They were also tipped and, like Holmes, their roles remain unchanged.
And that's not the only headache Tesco has to contend with. On the news of Sir Terry's departure, the retailer's share price fell 2.5% and, though it has since bounced back, it is clear Tesco has a PR job on its hands, one it won't want to do and shouldn't have to.
The City may be jittery about Tesco losing the man David Reid described as "one of the leading businessmen of his generation", but it should realise that his great legacy is that he has created a machine that can run perfectly well without him.
Perhaps even better. Tesco's international business generates more profits than the whole of Tesco did when Sir Terry took over and now the retailer finally has the management structure befitting such an empire.
For someone described by one source as having the smallest ego of any CEO he's ever met, Sir Terry will leave a pretty sizeable hole when he departs next March.
Now Sir Terry Leahy has declared he's off to focus on private investment.
Quite what investment, the Tesco insider I spoke to couldn't or wouldn't say, but he was confident Tesco had pulled the whole thing off seamlessly and that there wouldn't be any dissent in the senior ranks.
"It's a collegiate place to be," he boasted unfortunately just before one 'student' dropped out.
Colin Holmes jacked in his job on Wednesday, just a day after Sir Terry's exit and the accompanying management shake-up was announced.
The commercial director for fresh foods' departure may not spark speculation about the futures of Brasher and Mason, both of whom had been touted as potential heirs to the throne and, insists Tesco, are delighted with their newly expanded remits. But what of Higginson and McIlwee? They were also tipped and, like Holmes, their roles remain unchanged.
And that's not the only headache Tesco has to contend with. On the news of Sir Terry's departure, the retailer's share price fell 2.5% and, though it has since bounced back, it is clear Tesco has a PR job on its hands, one it won't want to do and shouldn't have to.
The City may be jittery about Tesco losing the man David Reid described as "one of the leading businessmen of his generation", but it should realise that his great legacy is that he has created a machine that can run perfectly well without him.
Perhaps even better. Tesco's international business generates more profits than the whole of Tesco did when Sir Terry took over and now the retailer finally has the management structure befitting such an empire.
For someone described by one source as having the smallest ego of any CEO he's ever met, Sir Terry will leave a pretty sizeable hole when he departs next March.
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