New CEO Dave Lewis

Dave Lewis is a veteran of consumer goods giant Unilever, with a reputation for being hard-nosed and tough. He was given a nickname “drastic Dave” after he slashed 300 jobs at Unilever in 2007.

The head of Unilever’s global personal care business – which includes toiletry brands like Vaseline and Radox – is known for being the man behind the successful launch of Dove in the UK, but he also gained a reputation as a turnaround expert after being promoted in 2011 to take charge of the £15.8 billion (US$26.9 billion) Unilever division.

Analysts are predicting that Lewis will take tough action on Tesco’s heavy cost base to enable the supermarket to compete more effectively.

“Lewis knows nothing about retailing, but maybe that doesn’t matter, because as a leading supplier he certainly knows how to win price wars and perhaps that is the big issue now facing Tesco in the UK,” said veteran retail analyst Nick Bubb.