Asda relaunches search for new CEO
Asda chairman Allan Leighton has restarted his search for a new chief executive, marking the latest step in his bid to turn around the struggling supermarket.
It is understood that this new process will see Leighton seek to recruit a candidate he could work alongside, rather than oversee as a chairman, The Telegraph reported.
This decision is thought to allow Leighton to retain crucial involvement in Asda’s day-to-day running and strategy through his role as chairman.
The new recruitment follows Asda quietly abandoning the search after former chairman Lord Rose failed to find anyone suitable for the role, after the abrupt departure of Roger Burnley in 2021 and a fall-out with TDR Capital.
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City sources claim that “a whole conveyor belt of people” had declined the role, despite the attached £10m annual paypacket.
Instead, in November last year, Leighton was appointed the grocery giant’s new executive chairman by Rose, following previously acting as CEO from 1996 to 2000. His four year stint was marked by Asda’s successful sale to Walmart.
Since January, Leighton has already introduced a series of cost-cutting measures, including redundancies and new senior appointments, as he warned of a long road ahead for the ailing supermarket.
2 Comments. Leave new
Poach one of the executive’s directors of Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons and you will get someone. Who knows how to run a business.
Probably the worst state of British food retailing even seen.
A poisoned chalice.