Sir Leslie Porter (born Posament; 10 July 1920 – 20 March 2005) was an English businessman,[1] chairman and managing director of Tesco Stores.
During the Second World War, Porter served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps in Egypt, Greece, Crete, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Italy, rising to the rank of Quartermaster sergeant, 1st Battalion in The Rangers.
[4] He re-joined the family business in 1946 and immediately reorganised the operations and structure of the company to include linens for the home and furnishing fabrics.
[7] His success in the developing non-foods divisions for Tesco led to his appointment as Assistant managing director in 1964.
The move enabled Tesco to save £20 million per year,[12] which the company was able to use for grocery price reductions.
Porter and the management team, launched Operation Checkout in 1977,[13] aimed at passing on retails savings to clients.