Wilson replaces Matt Davies, who will be involved in the handover to Wilson, before stepping down and leaving the group at the end of April.
The appointment becomes official around 5 March, when Tesco’s takeover of wholesale firm Booker Group is expected to go through. Wilson, who is currently chief executive of Booker — which is merging with Tesco in a deal worth £3.7bn — will join the Tesco board and executive committee.
Dave Lewis, Tesco’s chief executive, said: "[Wilson] brings substantial commercial and retail experience and has an exceptional track record of increasing performance and driving growth in customer-focused businesses…
"I would also like to thank Matt for his outstanding contribution to Tesco over the last three years. His values based leadership and invaluable support have been instrumental to the significant progress we have made in the transformation of the UK & ROI business. I wish him well for the future."
Wilson’s career started in 1986 at Procter & Gamble, while he has also served as executive director of Marks & Spencer, before being appointed as Booker chief executive in 2005.
In his Tesco role he will receive a base salary of £575,000, with a potential bonus of 200% of that figure. He holds 24,533 in Tesco shares.
