Tesco names ex-Vodafone chief as UK marketing head

Tesco has appointed former Vodafone marketer Lance Batchelor as UK marketing director. This is the second major change to the Tesco marketing department since Tim Mason, formerly responsible for global marketing, was promoted to chief executive of the retailer’s US operations in February.

Batchelor takes up the post on August 6 and will report to Richard Brasher, the supermarket group’s commercial and trading director, and board-level marketer. Brasher is also responsible for global marketing for the retailer.

Ian Crook, the grocery giant’s UK marketing director, has been promoted to the position of marketing director for the internet and will report to Laura Wade-Gery who is chief executive of Tesco.com.

Batchelor held the board-level marketing director position at Vodafone UK where he was responsible for a £150m marketing budget and 450 people before taking on a global marketing role at the telecoms company in 2004.

Prior to Vodafone he was chief marketing officer and general manager at online retailer Amazon.com, and spent eight years at Procter & Gamble both in the UK and US.

He left Vodafone in April last year and set up The PC Guys, a national computer repair network. The Hampshire-based company provides onsite support and repairs for home and business users, as well as network installations and IT training.

Tesco is launching its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market supermarket format later in the year and has tasked Mason with the rollout. The new marketing appointments come just days after clothing chief executive Terry Green had UK non-food added to his clothing remit. He will be given the task of combining the retailer’s hardlines and softlines sectors to create a single non-food division.

Terry Price, who had led Tesco’s hardlines sector for four years, was made head of non-food for Europe.