Decision to leave Asda is personal, store’s chief executive Burnley says
ASDA HAS announced that its CEO and president, Roger Burnley, has decided to leave the business next year, after the supermarket has transitioned fully to new ownership and his long-term successor is in place.
Having brought Asda back into British ownership, the Issa brothers and TDR Capital said they are focused on supporting the leadership team to accelerate Asda’s growth strategy over the next five years and beyond.
A process will commence to appoint a new CEO who is able to commit to leading the business over the long term.
Mr Burnley, 54, who grew up in Dewsbury, has been CEO since January 2018, having joined the business in 2016 as deputy CEO.
Asda was owned until earlier this year by Walmart, the world’s largest company by sales. It is now majority owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, founders and coCEOs of the global convenience and forecourts retailer, EG Group, and TDR Capital, a leading private equity investor. Walmart retains a minority shareholding.
Mr Burnley said: “My decision to leave Asda is personal and something I wanted to communicate to my colleagues as soon as I could.
“Whilst I remain fully committed to leading this great business for the next year and delivering our strategy, it is right to plan for a managed succession process well in advance.
“It has been a great privilege to play a leading role at Asda over the last five years – putting in place a clear strategy for longterm sustainable growth and doing the right things for our customers, colleagues and the communities we serve.
“We have supported our communities – both local and global – through our work to remove 9,300 tonnes of plastic from our operations and donate over 100 million meals through our partnership with FareShare and Trussell Trust,” he added.