Alison Cheung: Founding Member Profile

Introducing Alison Cheung, Group Finance Director, Tesco!

In this interview Alison shares how her passion for retail lead her to one of the biggest retailers in the UK, how she prioritised her career development to reach the top, and why she wanted to get involved with Potentia.

Please outline the journey you have taken to get to this point in your career:

I started my finance career at Accenture but having always had a real passion for retail, I moved to Tesco early on in my career. I have now spent over two decades at Tesco and am currently the Group Finance Director. I have always been driven to succeed and focused on my development to ensure I gained the breadth of experience I needed to progress. During my time at Tesco, I have held various roles across finance. Tesco is a large company that is brilliant at developing internal talent so I have had access to plenty of opportunities.

Aside from your career, what makes you, you? 

I am married and a mum of two girls who are the centre of my world. My main focus outside of work is being a brilliant mum. I have always said I will only do the job that I do, if I can balance it with being a hands-on and present mum. I am also a keen runner and go cold water swimming every week.

What key things do your think would have supported you when you were starting out on your career?

When I was starting out in my career, there was a real absence of authentic female role models in leadership positions. It would have been hugely beneficial as often you have to see it to believe it. Earlier in my career, I was overly self-critical and often held myself back. Having a strong female role model or mentor could have helped me navigate this.

Why Potentia?

I feel that people in a position of privilege have an obligation to give back. I wanted to get involved with Potentia so that I can share my experiences and to support future finance leaders to achieve their goals. It’s important to me that we encourage greater representation in general in the Boardroom and I see supporting groups such as Potentia, an important step towards this.

If you are interesting in joining Potentia, please register via https://www.potentianetworking.com/register