Tesco's CEO doing serious harm to business, former directors say

11th Apr 2014 08:02

Former Tesco directors fear Chief Executive Philip Clarke may be driving the business in the 'wrong direction', according to The Times on Friday.The directors are said to be "dismayed and angry" at the cull of senior talent at the retailer, including outgoing Finance Director Laurie McIlwee, and the reported campaign against Marketing Officer Matt Atkinson. "[Clarke] is just not good enough. He is doing serious harm to the business," a former director, who worked at the supermarket group for two decades, told the British newspaper.Clarke has also been accused of blaming previous Chief Executive Terry Leahy for the company's recent poor performance, rather than taking responsibility for what directors believe is his fault. "Philip needs to be held accountable for his period as chief executive. There is this strange idea that Sir Terry is somehow responsible for Philip's time as chief executive," a source said. Tecsco launched a profit warning in January 2012 when Clarke said "we've driven productivity a bit too hard is the truth. We've run too hot for too long". His comments were seen as a criticism against Terry but those close to Clarke said they were not directed at the former boss. Tesco is due to report is 2013 results next week and analysts predict a 10% decline in trading profit to £3.2bn. The supermarket chain is also expected to announce pre-tax profits of £2.9bn, down from £3.1bn last year.Shares fell 0.44% to 282.80p at 08:21 on Friday.RD