After five years with Tesco (the world’s third largest retailer), Christine Heffernan was appointed to the top communications role in 2019. The majority of her time with the company was as director of corporate affairs for Tesco Ireland where she transformed the business and its communications successfully rebuilding trust in the brand. Former Tesco CEO Dave Lewis described Heffernan as having ‘a wealth of experience and business insight’ and ‘energy and deep communications expertise’. During the pandemic and under Heffernan’s direction, Tesco focused on loyalty proposition supporting communities with a new fund and campaigns such as #FoodLoveStories with dedications to key workers across the UK. According to Provoke Media, ‘for the first time in a decade, the supermarket is seeing customers switching back from discount food retailer Aldi’. Heffernan’s career was seeded in politics; she worked at the European Parliament and as a policy advisor to the UK Treasury. She then moved into corporate affairs and communications, with senior positions at Vodafone and Bord Gais.
