Morrisons has named Joseph Blaize, Asda’s previous product manager, as its new trading director, effective immediately.

During a 13-year career at Asda, he built commercial expertise across a number of categories, including ready meals, dairy and meat in both retail and manufacturing.

As part of his new role, Blaize will oversee and manage breakfast grocery, biscuits, crisps and snacks departments.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

Morrisons said in a statement posted on LinkedIn: “A Harper Adams University graduate with a passion for food and the industry, Joe brings strong commercial expertise, a collaborative mindset and a real enthusiasm for developing teams, building supplier relationships and seeing great products land in stores for customers.

“We’re excited to have Joe on board and look forward to the impact he’ll make as part of our trading leadership team.”

The appointment follows a successful full-year report released in January, where Morrisons saw its revenue grow year-over-year, boosted by a strong Christmas trading period.