2023-05-19 19:06:15
NFollowing allegations of sexual harassment, the CEO of British supermarket chain Tesco will resign next month. Tesco said on Friday that 74-year-old John Allan would step down at the shareholders’ meeting on June 16 after eight years at the helm of the company. The Guardian reported last week that Allan grabbed a manager’s bottom during the 2022 annual general meeting.
In all, four women were preparing allegations of inappropriate and unprofessional conduct against Allan, the newspaper wrote. Tesco interim president Byron Grote said Friday the allegations could “distract” Tesco from its core business, while the company has yet to receive a lawsuit.
Most allegations denied
Allan has been the head of the supermarket giant’s board of directors since 2015. In 2018 and 2019 he was also chairman of the CBI business association. At a CBI event in May 2019, Allan is said to have grabbed a woman’s bottom. According to The Guardian, he made “inappropriate comments” about female CBI employees in 2019 and 2021. According to the newspaper, some of the cases involved sexual harassment.
Allan had promptly denied most of the allegations; in one instance, he apologized for his comments about a CBI employee in 2019.
Tesco said the company immediately commissioned an independent investigation into allegations against Allan after the newspaper report. Questioning of witnesses and video footage of the 2022 AGM have not revealed any evidence, as has review of his overall tenure at Tesco.
Grote thanked Allan for his “considerable contribution” to the company. Tesco is “well advanced” in its search for a successor, he added.
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