Roberts to replace Tarry as IGD president

Jason Tarry is stepping down as president of IGD, to be replaced by Simon Roberts.

The move sees the outgoing boss of Tesco UK being replaced by his Sainsbury’s counterpart at the grocery industry analyst and charity.

In his tenure at IGD, Tarry is regarded as having played a critical role in galvanising the industry’s leadership and creating an open environment within IGD’s CEO Forum.

Roberts is already a highly active member of IGD’s CEO Forum, and will take on the IGD presidency on 1 March 2024. He has extensive knowledge and experience in retail, having held a wide range of roles at M&S, Boots and Sainsbury’s, where he has been CEO since 2020.

Sarah Bradbury, CEO of IGD, said: “Many thanks to Jason for the huge levels of commitment, guidance and enthusiasm he has brought to the role of IGD president. I’m particularly thankful for the support he has given me personally during the transition to my new role at IGD.

“Jason has also shown great support for our ambition to become the essential partner to a thriving food and consumer goods industry; he passes the baton to Simon at a critical time, when the work we do in bringing our industry together to tackle the big issues has never been more important.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with Simon, who has a huge breadth of industry experience and is already a great supporter and advocate of our work at IGD.”

Tarry said: “I am incredibly proud to have been president of IGD. This is a very special organisation with a huge level of ambition to help our industry thrive. I have no doubt that Simon Roberts, working closely with Sarah and her team, will continue to drive this unique organisation from strength to strength.”

Roberts added: “On behalf of the UK grocery industry, we thank Jason Tarry for his leadership in driving forward such an important agenda. IGD has a vital role to play in bringing the industry together to tackle the big issues we face and in helping us work towards creating a more resilient and sustainable food system for everybody.

“We can only achieve impactful change through collaboration and partnership across our industry, and I’m excited about working with Sarah and all the members of the IGD to find innovative solutions which will make a genuine difference for all our colleagues, customers, suppliers and partners.”