British supermarket group Asda has appointed Stuart Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, as its new chairman, tasking him with leading the board's recruitment of a new chief executive.
Rose, 72, also a former chairman of online supermarket Ocado, will take up the chairman role at Asda on 1 December, the group said.
Asda, Britain's third largest grocer after market leader Tesco and Sainsbury's, is owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity group TDR Capital.
The brothers and TDR also own petrol forecourt business EG Group, which is also chaired by Rose.
Asda has been without a CEO since Roger Burnley abruptly left the group in August.
CEO Appointment - A Priority
"The process to appoint a new chief executive officer for Asda, who has the vision to take this great business forward over the coming years, is a priority for the Board and we will be supporting the shareholders in this process," Rose said.
Asda also named Alison Carnwath, a former chair of Land Securities, as a non-executive director, effective 1 December. She also sits on the EG board.
Recently, the retailer introduced 'refill areas' at its Milton Keynes supercentre, as it continues its drive to reduce plastic and help customers shop more sustainably.
The store will stock over 70 branded and own-brand products in the dedicated refill zones, at the same price or cheaper than packaged equivalents as part of the supermarket’s Greener at Asda Price promise campaign.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
