Jason Tarry will leave Tesco in March, to be succeeded by Matthew Barnes, who has held several senior positions at Aldi.

Tesco will welcome former Aldi boss Matthew Barnes to take over the role of UK chief executive as Jason Tarry steps down from the business after 33 years. Jason has been in his current position for the last six years, and is set to leave the company in March 2024.

Matthew Barnes has held a number of senior positions at Aldi, including as CEO for the UK and Ireland. He has since been promoted to Aldi Sud’s executive board, taking on responsibility for many of the discounters international businesses as well as its global sourcing, buying and supply chain.

Outgoing CEO, Jason Tarry, led Tesco through its turnaround and has been credited with rebuilding the supermarket as a competitive force in the UK market, despite the challenges of the recent pandemic.

The retailer introduced a new efficiency plan earlier this year, including a revised in-store management structure which looked to realign roles in order to focus on overall store performance. A number of roles in different functions of its head office were also removed, and the Tesco Maintenance National Operating Centre (NOC) in Milton Keynes closed down.

Tesco Group chief executive Ken Murphy said: “Jason has made an immense contribution to our business. Under his leadership, Tesco today is the most competitive we have ever been, built on exceptionally strong foundations of doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues. His values and commitment to creating a high performing, supportive and diverse culture have been key to creating the Tesco we know today.”

Jason added: “My life in Tesco has been a wonderful experience and I am grateful to my amazing colleagues and the lifelong friends I have made here. I will continue to give my all to being UK CEO until March, and my determination that we give our customers the best Christmas is heightened knowing that this will be my last as a Tesco colleague.”