David Potts (businessman)

Last updated
David Potts
Born
David Tom Potts

(1957-03-18) 18 March 1957 (age 67)
Education Hartshead County Secondary School
Tameside College
Alma materHollings College (now Manchester Metropolitan University)
Known forFormer CEO of Morrisons (2015-2023)
Children2 sons

David Tom Potts, CBE (born 18 March 1957) is a British corporate executive. He was the CEO of the British supermarket chain Morrisons until November 2023, having succeeded Dalton Philips in 2015.

Contents

Early life

David Tom Potts was born on 18 March 1957 in Ashton-under-Lyne, and educated there at Hartshead County Secondary School. [1] [2]

Potts got a summer job at Tesco in Ashton-under-Lyne as a general assistant, while waiting for his O-level results, having already worked in a greengrocers. [2] He failed all five of his O-levels, and has stated, "My lack of success at school was probably to do with playing football all the time". [2]

Career

Having failed his exams, Potts continued working full-time with Tesco. After work, he studied at Tameside College to obtain English and Maths O-levels. Then he studied on day release for a diploma in retailing at Hollings College (now part of Manchester Metropolitan University) in Manchester. [2]

Aged 24, he was posted to Ryde on the Isle of Wight, as Tesco's youngest-ever superstore manager. [2]

In February 2015, it was announced that Potts would succeed Dalton Philips as CEO of Morrisons, who would step down after five years in charge. [3]

It was announced in September 2023 that Potts would be standing down as CEO of Morrisons in November 2023. [4]

Honours

In the 2013 New Year Honours, Potts was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to Employment, Skills and Apprenticeships in the Retail Sector". [5]

Personal life

He has two sons, Dan and George. [2] and two grandchildren Esmé and Leo, the children of Dan and his wife Sarah. His partner is Jane Holt. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Metropolitan University</span> Public university in Manchester, England

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties and is one of the largest universities in the UK, measured by the size of its student population in 2020/21.

Safeway Limited is a British groceries brand, and former chain of supermarkets and convenience shops. The British Safeway was founded in 1962 by the American Safeway Inc., before being sold to Argyll Foods in 1987. It was later listed on the London Stock Exchange. It was purchased by Morrisons in March 2004. Most of its 479 shops were rebranded as Morrisons, with others being sold. Safeway-branded shops disappeared from the United Kingdom on 24 November 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morrisons</span> British supermarket chain

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, and one in Gibraltar. The company is headquartered in Bradford, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sainsbury's</span> British supermarket chain

J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Droylsden</span> Town in Greater Manchester

Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, 4.1 miles (6.6 km) east of Manchester city centre and 2.2 miles (3.5 km) west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689.

Justin Matthew King CBE is an English businessman. King served as the CEO of J Sainsbury plc, parent company of the supermarket chain Sainsbury's, for ten years before stepping down in July 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Leahy</span> English businessman (born 1956)

Sir Terence Patrick Leahy is a British businessman, previously the CEO of Tesco, the largest British retailer and the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. In 2011, he became a senior advisor at private equity company Clayton Dubilier & Rice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance Manchester Business School</span> Business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England

Alliance Manchester Business School is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. It is one of the oldest business schools in the UK, and provides education to undergraduates, postgraduates and executives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gill (football executive)</span> British football executive

David Alan Gill is a British football executive, formerly chief executive of Manchester United and a vice-chairman of The Football Association. He served as vice-chairman of the G-14 management committee until the G-14 was disbanded. He sits on the UEFA Executive Committee as of 2013. Gill was elected as a FIFA Vice-President sitting on the FIFA Council in 2015; rejecting this position in protest at Sepp Blatter until Blatter announced his resignation as FIFA President, following the 2015 FIFA corruption case.

Great Academy Ashton is a coeducational secondary school with academy status in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England.

The Timpson Group is a British and Irish service retailer that has a number of different brands across its portfolio of 2,100 stores, including Timpson, Max Spielmann, Johnsons The Cleaners, Snappy Snaps, Jeeves of Belgravia, The Watch Lab and Flock Inns.

Timothy David Dalton Philips is an Irish businessman. He currently serves as the CEO of Greencore since September of 2022.

Tameside College is a further education college located in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England.

John Browett is a British businessman and former chief executive of Dunelm Group and Monsoon Accessorize. He was the senior vice-president of retail at Apple Inc. from April 2012 to October 2012.

Sir David John Lewis is an English businessman. He is the former CEO of Tesco, serving from 2014 to 2020. Prior to joining Tesco, he was president of global personal care at Unilever. Sir David has served as Director of The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales since his appointment in July 2024.

Andrew Thomas Higginson is a British business executive. As of 2017, he was the Chairman of Morrisons, Non-Executive Director of Woolworths in South Africa, Chairman of N Brown Group and Chairman of ITC Luxury Travel Group, and Chairman of corporate finance firm Clearwater International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Vennells</span> British businesswoman and priest (born 1959)

Paula Anne Vennells is a British former businesswoman who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019. She is also an ordained Anglican priest who voluntarily ceased her clerical duties in 2021.

Rami Baitiéh is a French businessman of Lebanese ancestry, and the CEO of the British supermarket chain Morrisons.

References

  1. "David Tom POTTS". Debretts. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Barry, Chris (13 August 2004). "Pure passion drives David". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. "Morrisons names David Potts as new chief executive". BBC. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  4. "Rami Baitiéh appointed as Morrisons Chief Executive". Morrisons Corporate. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  5. "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. pp. 7–8.
  6. "David Potts – Chief Executive Officer – updated biography". Morrisons. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
Business positions
Preceded by Chief executive officer of Morrisons
20152023
Succeeded by