Former Tesco UK managing director Chris Bush has been named as the new boss of one of the world’s biggest fruit suppliers, Westfalia Fruit Group.
Bush will take over later this week at the avocado specialist from acting group CEO Rian du Toit, who returns to his former role of group CFO.
The announcement comes almost six years after a judge threw out charges against Bush and former Tesco colleague John Scouler after a High Court case following the Tesco accounting scandal.
After the case, the former Tesco executives claimed they had been “fed to the wolves” by the supermarket as scapegoats for its financial crisis.
Founded 75 years ago by South African scientist and conservationist Hans Merensky, Westfalia operates in 17 countries, including the UK. It sells products ranging from fresh avocados to avocado oil, low-preservative guacamole, frozen avocado, and dried fruit.
Bush’s last role was as divisional CEO of DFI Retail Group, South East Asia (formerly Dairy Farm Group), where he directed DFI Retail’s 1,500 stores across seven countries.
Westfalia said that with his near-40 years of experience across grocery retail, Bush had led “vastly complex” multinational organisations, driving growth and turnaround strategies across various geographies.
It said he had a “strong track record in leading people and operations at scale”.
HMH and Westfalia Fruit Group chairman Dr Khotso Mokhele said: “After an extensive global search process, the board is delighted to welcome Mr Bush as our new group chief executive.
“Chris is a seasoned CEO with exceptional strategic capabilities, proven operational effectiveness, and strong experience in retail, as well as working across a breadth of different countries and cultures.”
Speaking of his new appointment, Bush said: “I am both honoured and delighted to be joining an organisation that is so clearly dedicated to innovation, product quality and sustainability.
“I am inspired by the company’s stated mission to lead the way in addressing climate change by following in the footsteps of the company’s founder, Dr Hans Merensky, to do good and contribute to a better planet for future generations.
“I am excited to meet our talented team, our customers, communities and stakeholders around the world to listen and learn how together we can maximise our growth potential and build sustainable, long-term success.”
Bush served for more than three decades with Tesco, including as CEO of Tesco Thailand, and became UK MD under CEO Philip Clarke in 2013.
Along with ex-Tesco UK food commercial director Scouler, he was found not guilty in the high-profile trial when a judge threw out the case due to lack of evidence, after former UK finance director Carl Rogberg was judged not well enough to stand trial.
Tesco agreed to pay a £129m fine after admitting corporate responsibility for fraud in the accounting scandal, in return for prosecution being suspended. It also agreed to change its trading culture.
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