Sir Terry Leahy to Welcome New Oaklands Intake

Oaklands College are proud to announce that in September Sir Terry Leahy will be welcoming the students of the next academic. Sir Terry will give a speech to the new intake, giving them the inspiration to kick-start their year(s) with the College.

Sir Terry was appointed Chief Executive of Tesco PLC in March 1997 and retired from this position in March 2011.  He received a Knighthood for services to food retailing in the 2002 New Year Honours.

Sir Terry joined Tesco in 1979 as a Marketing Executive and was promoted to Marketing Manager in 1981.  From 1984 to 1986 he held the position of Marketing Director for Tesco Stores Ltd.  He was appointed Commercial Director of Fresh Foods in 1986.  Appointed to the Board of Tesco PLC as Marketing Director in 1992, and was appointed Deputy Managing Director in February 1995.

In March 2008 he was nominated by Retail Week as Retail Leader of the Year.  From 2005 to 2010 he was voted as Britain’s Most Admired Leader by Management Today and in 2004 he was named European Businessman of the year by Fortune Magazine.  In 2010 he received the Daily Telegraph’s Award for a Decade of Excellence in Business a Lifetime Achievement award from Director Magazine and was voted Business Person of the Year by the Sunday Times.

Sir Terry is now a part-time senior advisor to Clayton Dubilier & Rice, the US private equity firm.  He also invests in entrepreneurial businesses and is involved with various charities.

Zoe Hancock, Principal of the College, commented: “It is a great honour and very exciting for the College to have Sir Terry Leahy speak to our students. He is a great example of where hard work, determination and aspiration can get you.

I know that our students will find inspiration from listening to Sir Terry Leahy’s successes and how achieved his goals.”