Farewell to Phil J Clarke, Tesco Ireland's outgoing chief executive, who announced his retirement on Wednesday. The J distinguishes Clarke from his namesake, the former Tesco group chief executive Phil Clarke, who was ousted last summer.

The retirement of the Irish Clarke gives new group chief executive Dave Lewis an opportunity to remould the management team in Ireland, the most important European unit of the supermarket group outside Britain.

Andrew Yaxley, Clarke's replacement, takes over next month. He is an Englishman but his wife hails from Bray, so it is a homecoming of sorts.

What will Clarke do next?

“I’m retiring, so I’m looking forward to a change of pace. My plans are to take the summer off and then later in the year I’d like to get involved in a charity or community organisation and give something back.”

Clarke has served less than two years as chief executive, so his departure surprised some. Tesco Ireland said the retirement age for its directors is 60, and Clarke is “just shy” of this.

He turned 57 this month, according to company documents, so he could have served three more years. But after more than four decades with the group, you couldn’t blame him for wanting to clock out a little early.