Of learnings, failures and triumphs: A retail CEO’s journey


October 28, 2024 | By Rupkatha B
  • SHARE
  • Create new magazine

Mark Tesseyman, CEO, LIWA Trading Enterprises

During his SOLOx session, Mark Tesseyman, Chief Executive Officer of LIWA Trading Enterprises shared his journey from a sportsperson to a retail leader and many learnings along the way.

Belonging to a family that travelled a lot, as Tesseyman’s father was in the military, he changed schools every couple of years, thereby learning to integrate with different people, becoming resilient as a result.

Tesseyman was considered a “disruptive child” by his parents. A quality that he has held on to, implementing several disruptive ideas to grow retail businesses that he has been part of over the decades. But interestingly, retail wasn’t his first career choice, because Tesseyman wanted to be a professional sportsperson.

“I was a scratch golfer at 16 and wanted to make a living playing golf. I also played cricket. During winter, I played golf and during summer, I played cricket, which was great. But I didn’t make any money, because I wasn’t good enough which is a sad failure and a great life lesson. I had to accept that I was not going to have a career as a sportsman, which was hard,” he shared.

When he decided to go to university, fate had other plans as Tesseyman started working in retail. Over the years, he rose through the ranks with different retail organisations working in every conceivable function including finance, audit, buying, merchandising and more, turning around several brands.

Sharing some key learnings, Tesseyman said, “Retailing is simple, so keep it simple. Give customers what they want, when they want it at a price they are prepared to pay. Product, people and place define a brand, work on them all. I was always told that the world is average, and to not be average, which taught me to be unreasonable in the pursuit of excellence.”

In summation, he shared three pieces of advice. “Get your strategy right and be prepared to fail, but make sure everyone understands the strategy from the top to the bottom of your organisation; employ talented people, but never let a finance guy run a creative business; and get the right real estate and distribution channels.”

Previous Article

SHARE

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE /


Sunil Kumar and Debashish Mukherjee at MRF 2024

What does it take to sustain profitable growth in the post-IPO phase? 

Continue Reading

October 23, 2024 | By Anurima Das

Mahalle began its operations in 2022 as an “Authentic Turkish Grocery in 

Continue Reading

October 7, 2024 | By Anurima Das
Naresh Kumar Bhawnani, Founder & Chairman, West Zone Group

“Retail is a people’s business. When building a retail brand or the 

Continue Reading

October 3, 2024 | By RetailME Bureau
Sunil Kumar, CEO, Spinneys

From being one of the first retailers in Dubai to ban single-use 

Continue Reading

October 1, 2024 | By RetailME Bureau
Walid Shabana, Co-founder & CTO, Rabbit

For starters, Rabbit is a growing e-commerce grocery platform in Egypt always 

Continue Reading

September 30, 2024 | By RetailME Bureau
Arunachalam Palaniappan, CTO, Choithrams

In 2024 grocery retail major Choithrams has achieved several milestones underscoring its 

Continue Reading

September 12, 2024 | By RetailME Bureau
#Topshelftalks session at Food Business Forum 2024

Industry pioneers are embracing a comprehensive strategy that integrates consumer insights, digital 

Continue Reading

July 3, 2024 | By Anurima Das
#EdgeOfTomorrow session at Food Business Forum 2024

The regional grocery retail market is evolving fast keeping pace with constantly 

Continue Reading

July 3, 2024 | By Rupkatha B
#CartToCouch session at Food Business Forum 2024

If anything, the Middle East market is excited about quick commerce – 

Continue Reading

July 2, 2024 | By Rupkatha B
#EcoEchoes session at Food Business Forum 2024

From ethical and local sourcing to adopting cutting-edge technologies to curb food 

Continue Reading

July 2, 2024 | By Rupkatha B
#ByteSizedBreakthroughs session at Food Business Forum 2024

The regional grocery retail market is becoming more and more diverse, offering 

Continue Reading

July 2, 2024 | By Rupkatha B

Spinneys, the leading premium fresh food retailer, has announced the opening of 

Continue Reading

June 24, 2024 | By RetailME Bureau




Download Images RetailME Magazine
Skip to toolbar