Asda has appointed David Potts, the former chief executive of Morrisons, as its new group CEO, effective immediately, according to The Grocer. The move fills a leadership vacancy that had persisted since Roger Burnley left the role in 2021, following the supermarket chain's £6.8bn acquisition by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital.
Alongside Potts's appointment, Allan Leighton will take the position of non-executive group chairman. Leighton had stepped in to steer Asda's turnaround effort and has faced sustained criticism from some quarters over the length of time taken to install a permanent chief executive.
Why it matters
Asda has been without a permanent CEO for roughly five years, a period that coincided with its change of ownership and repeated questions about its strategic direction. The appointment of Potts, a well-known figure in British retail, is being read as an attempt to answer those critics and to give the business a clear leader as it tries to build on recent progress.
Leighton framed the hire as the natural next step in the company's recovery. He said the business had been stabilised over the past two years, had returned to some growth, and had begun to establish Asda as "more than a supermarket" through its Formula for Growth strategy. He described Potts's industry record as outstanding and said his experience matched what the company now needs for the next phase of its transformation.
Potts arrives with a lengthy grocery pedigree. Before his time at Morrisons, where he served as boss from 2015 to 2023, he was a long-serving Tesco executive who ran the company's operations in Ireland, the UK and Asia. He was credited with a successful turnaround at Morrisons during his tenure, though The Grocer notes that his final months at that supermarket did not draw the same level of praise as his earlier years. He received a CBE in 2013 for services to employment, skills and apprenticeships in retail.
A familiar name takes the helm
In his own comments, Potts said Asda had long been a business he admired and had traded against over many years, and he described its staff as among the most passionate he has encountered. He acknowledged that the company had made good progress but said significant opportunities remain, adding that he was proud to have been asked by Leighton to lead the team.
Potts pointed to value for UK families as central to Asda's identity. He said that improving the shopping trip week by week, in ways customers can see and feel in their spending, would revitalise the business and benefit all stakeholders, including its 116,296 colleagues. With Christmas approaching, he said the company is focused on holding prices low for customers during the period.
The appointment drew a strong reaction from analysts and retail observers. Clive Black of Shore Capital told The Grocer that he saw it as a very encouraging and potentially outstanding hire by TDR. He called Potts one of the greatest grocers the country has produced, praising his grasp of trading and his records at Tesco and Morrisons. Black also offered a note of caution, suggesting that a weak company can often overcome good management, and that the coming period will reveal more about Asda's true condition and potential. He predicted that Potts would make Asda a better business, with implications for competitors.
Ged Futter, founder of Retail Mind and a former senior buyer at Asda, said the hire satisfied the demand for a big-name appointment and that the company knows exactly what it is getting in a leader who has spent decades in the industry. He also flagged the challenge of managing a group of strong personalities at Asda House, and said the chain's deeper problem has been a lack of clear leadership over its plan. Futter said he hopes Potts supplies that missing direction, describing the business as having been rudderless.
What to watch: whether Potts sets out a clear strategic plan for Asda and whether the business shows measurable progress against rivals under his leadership.
