THE status of one of Tesco Bank’s most senior directors remained clouded yesterday after claims emerged he has left the company.
Shaun Doherty, IT and operations director, has been a key lieutenant to Tesco Bank boss Benny Higgins since 2008. However, Tesco refused to confirm or deny claims Doherty has left the bank, saying that it “will not comment on market speculation or rumour”.
The hiring of Doherty from rival HBOS was lauded as a major coup by Tesco as it attempted to build a stand-alone IT system after it bought out its former joint venture partner, Royal Bank of Scotland. But the launch of its mortgage product earlier this month came only after a long series of delays, during which Higgins insisted he wanted to ensure the bank got the product right. Tesco’s IT systems also ran into hiccups last year when customers were locked out of their accounts as it migrated accounts from one system to another.
The bank employs 3,000 staff in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
