Asda drafts in Lidl exec in leadership shake-up
Asda has appointed the current chief operating officer of Lidl to head up its stores and depots operation, as the supermarket retailer makes a number of changes to its senior leadership team.
Matt Heslop has worked with Lidl for over 20 years in various senior operational roles. Under his new position, he will be responsible for the 470 stores in the newly-established Asda Express division.
Asda said his experience in the convenience sector will be particularly important in helping accelerate Asda Express’ position in the £40bn convenience retail market.
In addition, Matt Kelleher – whose recruitment as chief digital officer was announced in January – will join in July to oversee Asda’s ecommerce and data functions. He joins from Morrisons, where he was previously chief information officer.
Simon Gregg, senior vice president of ecommerce and Retail South, will leave Asda in July via mutual consent.
Mohsin Issa, Asda co-owner, said: “I’m delighted to announce Matt Heslop’s appointment to lead a critical part of our operation and drive the next stage of our growth journey. He is an experienced operator with a proven track record in managing substantial retail operations in a fast-growing company. Along with Matt Kelleher, who assumes the role of chief digital officer in July, these appointments further strengthen the leadership team as we continue to deliver against our strategy. I would also like to thank Simon Gregg for his contributions to the business. He has been an important part of the leadership team, and we wish him well in the future.”
Asda recently announced plans to invest £50m into its store estate.