Roger Burnley to step down as Asda CEO

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, 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 co-CEOs 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 long-term sustainable growth and doing the right things for our customers, colleagues and the communities we serve.

“I could not be prouder of our achievements during this time– which have seen us maintain our strong heritage as a value and values driven retailer, offering great products to our customers at consistently low prices as well as supporting our local communities. We have also developed our brand partnerships that mean we are an even more convenient place than ever to shop."

He said that Asda has created a "formidable" online grocery operation that is on track to fulfil one million orders a week by the end of this year.

“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.

"Through the Covid 19 pandemic it has given me immense pride to be able to support over 200,000 vulnerable people with weekly home shopping deliveries as well as provide 250,000 masks for care workers and 7,000 laptops for local schools. Most importantly, I have seen the pride on my colleagues faces at the recognition that the work they do really matters to society."