Asda, the British supermarket arm of Walmart, has promoted Roger Burnley to take on the role of CEO and president in the New Year.
Burnley, who will take the helm on 1 January 2018, returned to Asda as COO and deputy CEO in October of last year, and will take over from current CEO Sean Clarke who is stepping down at the end of the year.
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Walmart International CEO Dave Cheesewright today (30 October) said former Sainsbury’s executive Burnley was “purposefully” brought back to Asda to partner with Clarke ahead of the transition. “He and Sean have worked as a great team and I’m really confident in Roger’s ability to continue building upon our returning momentum.”
“After more than 21 years with the company, Sean has worked across five international markets including serving as president and CEO of Walmart China and obviously here in the UK too,” Cheesewright added. “He’s continually shown the ability to lead critical transformation and the last 15 months are no exception.
“Sean will continue to lead Asda until the end of December after which, he’s taking some time out and will then remain engaged with Walmart.”
Clarke will remain Asda’s CEO until 31 December and will work closely with Burnley to ensure a smooth transition and deliver what the company claims will be its “best” Christmas.
However, GlobalData analyst Tom Berry believes Asda’s continued poor results show new leadership is needed, and that Burnley “faces an uphill battle when he takes over after Christmas, with the discounters expanding apace, premiumising their ranges and developing consumer trust in their own brand items.
“Asda must firstly revamp its stores to meet the improved expectations of shoppers following increased investments from the other big four players, and the discounters. It must then find a place in the market to distinguish itself from those competitors,” he adds.
