Dino Adriano

Dino Baia Adriano (24 April 1943 – 9 May 2018)[1][2] was a British businessman, and a former chief executive of Sainsbury's, as well as being directors of Homebase, Shaws and a trustee of Oxfam. He was noted in financial circles for trying to turn round the fortunes of Sainsbury's after they lost their number one spot to Tesco's, but his most prominent role, in the public eye, was his appearance on television in BBC 2's Back to the Floor in 1999, where he famously vented his frustrations and told the camera his thoughts, much to the public's amusement, but influencing, so the media presumed, his leaving Sainsbury's and damaging his career.[3]

Dino Adriano
Born(1943-04-24)24 April 1943
London, England
Died9 May 2018(2018-05-09) (aged 75)
NationalityBritish
EducationStrand School
OccupationBusinessman
Children2

Early life

Born in London in 1943, of Italian descent, he was educated in Highgate College. He attended Strand School, a boys' grammar school in Central London.

Career

Sainsbury's

Adriano worked at Sainsbury's for 36 years. He joined Sainsbury's in 1964 and worked his way up through the ranks, including moving over their DIY company, Homebase, and to their Shaws subsidiary in 1992[4] In 1996 he became deputy chief executive of Sainsbury's. In 1997 he became chairman and chief executive of Sainsbury's. He was the first chief executive of the company that was not one of the Sainsbury's family, in a company that still had the family as 40% shareholders[5] He left in January 2000.[6]

Homebase

He was selected by Gurth Millar Hoyer to became managing director of Homebase in 1989.

Back to the Floor appearance

In 1999, Adriano agreed to be on the BBC2 television programme Back to the Floor, in which he, as managing director of leading retail companies, went back to the shop floor and worked there for a while with the cameras on him. In the series three episode "Supermarket swap", broadcast in 28 October 1999, Adriano was seen doing the routine things a shop worker had to do; he answered a question from an employee about his six-figure salary, but perhaps his most famous moment was when he decided that because he couldn't be bothered to wait for a price for a product while he worked on the busy checkouts; he just gave the item to the customer.[7]

Personal life

He was married and had two daughters, one of whom worked in Sainsbury's.[8] He died, aged 75, in May 2018. He lived in Surrey.

References
  1. Companies House profile
  2. Adriano, Dino, (24 April 1943–9 May 2018), Director, 1990–2000, Group Chief Executive, 1998–2000, J. Sainsbury plc (Joint Group Chief Executive, 1997–98); Chairman and Chief Executive, Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd, 1997–2000
  3. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-1568599/Ex-Sainsburys-chief-gets-16312m.html
  4. https://www.sainsburyarchive.org.uk/catalogue/search/sapr2127103-new-appointments-at-shaws-sainsburys-american-subsidiary-david-jenkins-phil-francis-dino-adriano-press-release-23-oct-1992
  5. https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/uk-davidson-interview-dino-adriano/article/406956
  6. Telegraph June 2000
  7. "Dino Adriano obituary". The Times. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  8. https://www.theguardian.com/business/1999/jun/05/10
Business positions
Preceded by
Tom Vyner		 CEO of Sainsbury's
1997–2000		 Succeeded by
Sir Peter Davis
Preceded by
 Managing Director of Homebase
1989–1993		 Succeeded by
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