Asda has appointed Lord Stuart Rose as chair, effective 1st December. The retailer has also confirmed the appointment of Dame Alison Carnwath, the former Land Securities chair, as a non-executive director. Both are directors of EG Group, the petrol stations chain that is owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa. Lord Rose will be Asda’s first dedicated chair since 1999. He has been a chair, board director and CEO of many UK retailers, including Marks and Spencer, where he was CEO and latterly its executive chair. He has also held senior roles with the Burton Group, Argos, Booker and Arcadia.
Dame Alison Carnwath is a trained accountant who spent time in corporate finance for Lloyds and J Henry Schroder Wagg in New York. She has held a number of board positions at Barclays, the Man Group, BP and Zurich Insurance Group.
“I am delighted to be appointed Chair of Asda, one of the biggest and best retail businesses in Britain,” said Lord Rose. “I am joining the Board at a hugely exciting time, as Asda builds on the incredible resilience it has demonstrated during the pandemic and embarks on the next chapter of its evolution and growth under new ownership.
“I am pleased to be joined on the Board by Dame Alison, who brings rigour and focus to everything she does – and look forward to confirming further non-executive appointments to our Board in the near future.
“We are both excited at the prospect of working with Mohsin and Zuber and the wider Asda team as they look to build on Asda’s strong heritage of delivering affordable quality across food, fashion and general merchandise – and of championing customers at every turn.
“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.”
Dame Alison said: “I am delighted to be joining the Board of Asda as a non-executive director. Asda plays an important role in the daily lives of millions of consumers across the UK and I am looking forward to working with Lord Rose, Mohsin and Zuber Issa and the entire Asda team to support the business as it builds on strong foundations to drive growth.”
Mohsin and Zuber Issa added: “We are pleased to have Lord Rose and Dame Alison join the board of Asda. They have already provided invaluable support and wisdom to the board of EG Group, and we know their insight and experience will add huge value at Asda too. We are committed to ensuring this iconic business has the right governance and management framework in place to set it up for long-term success. “The appointment of Lord Rose and Dame Alison mark an important step forward in this ongoing process and we plan to appoint further independent non-executive directors in due course.”
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