Lucy Neville–Rolfe, head of corporate affairs for UK retailer Tesco, has been made Dame of the British Empire. Neville-Rolfe, was appointed to the supermarket giant's main board six years ago, and is regularly cited as being the most influential in-house comms director.

Neville-Rolfe joined Tesco in 1997, following a 24 year career as a civil servant, which culminated in running the deregulation unit in the cabinet office. Her government career, however, had started in DEFRA, where, somewhat portentiously considering her later role in food retail, she helped draft the Food Safety Act 1990.

Lucy Neville-Rolfe announced last December that she would be leaving Tesco in January 2013. She will be replaced by Rebecca Shelley, formerly a partner at corporate and financial comms agency Brunswick. Neville-Rolfe will be a tough act to follow - she is universally liked, praised and respected. Perhaps her lasting legacy will be her many community and sustainability initiatives, including Tesco's commitment to being carbon neutral by 2050.

In addition to Tesco she also sits on boards of Dobbies, ITV and the Carbon Trust. Her knighthood was given for her services to industry and voluntary service.