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, it said on Tuesday.
Rose, 72, also a former chairman of online supermarket Ocado, will take up the chairman role at Asda on 1 December, the group said.
Britain's Third Largest Grocer
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.
Roger Burnley Steps Down
Asda has been without a CEO since Roger Burnley left the group earlier this year.
Burley announced that he was stepping down on the 6 August, having said in March he would not be departing until next year.
In February, Mohsin and Zuber Issa and TDR completed their purchase of a majority holding in Asda from U.S. giant Walmart, in a deal giving it an enterprise value of £6.8 billion ($9.5 billion).
"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.
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