The inside track—insights into the retail sector with Dame Lucy Neville-Rolfe

How did you originally come to work in the retail sector?

I joined Tesco in 1997 from the Cabinet Office. I had been a senior civil servant at Number 10 Downing Street, the Department for Trade and Industry and what is now the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

What attracted you to this particular area?

I wanted a change from the Civil Service and wanted to work in business. I was offered a demanding and challenging role as group director of corporate affairs at Tesco, which excited me.

I was attracted to Tesco in particular because of its innovation, enterprise and passion for the customer. While I was there I led work on three Competition Commission inquiries and from 2003 I assumed responsibility for the legal department, joining the board in 2006.

https://twitter.com/TescoMedia/status/269482474034302977

How does this fit into your career history?

I joined Tesco in 1997 after working in the Civil Service, most notably at what is now Defra and for the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit at Number 10.

Since leaving Tesco in January 2013 I have been made a life peer in the House of Lords, where I