Philip Clarke | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Philip Andrew Clarke 8 March 1960 Liverpool, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Liverpool |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Term | 2011–2014 |
| Predecessor | Sir Terry Leahy |
| Successor | Dave Lewis |
| Spouse | Linda Clarke |
| Children | 2 |
Philip Andrew Clarke (born 8 March 1960) is a British businessman. He served as the chief executive officer of Tesco plc until 1 September 2014.[1]
He was born in Liverpool, where his father was a Tesco store manager on the Wirral for many years, and gave Clarke his first job as a schoolboy in 1974.[2]
He was educated at the Liverpool Blue Coat School[citation needed] and went on to graduate with an economics degree from the University of Liverpool.[3]
Having initially stacked shelves at his local Tesco, he returned after graduating to join the Tesco Management Training Programme in 1981.[4] Appointed to the Board of Directors in 1998,[5] he then went on to replace Sir Terry Leahy in 2011. He sits on the board of directors of the Consumer Goods Forum.[6]
In July 2014 Philip announced that he was leaving Tesco's board, effective 1 October 2014, which was brought forward to 1 September 2014.[7]
Clarke was due to have a party celebrating 40 years at Tesco but this was cancelled the day before suggesting that the departure came sooner than expected. His leaving came after a disastrous 3 years overseeing the company's first profit warning in 20 years, and an accounting scandal in 2014.[8]
He lives in Hertfordshire with his wife, Linda, and has two children.[9]