Asda has named ex-Morrisons boss David Potts as its group CEO with immediate effect.
The announcement sees Allan Leighton move into the role of non-executive group chairman – a plan previously outlined by the business.
Leighton was made Asda’s chief executive in 1996 and was credited with a successful turnaround of the business in the 90s. He left the retailer in 2000 before joining again more than two decades later.
Potts spent almost 40 years at Tesco, where he became the CEO of its Ireland business, its UK retail stores business and then CEO of Tesco Asia. He was on the board from 1998 until he left in 2011.
In 2015, he joined Morrisons as group CEO. During his nine-year tenure, he navigated the retailer through its sale to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) for £7 billion before departing the business.
His appointment at Asda follows its own takeover in 2020 by TDR Capital and UK billionaire siblings Zuber and Mohsin Issa for £6.8 billion.
The business witnessed falling sales and losses thereafter, prompting Zuber to sell his stake. His brother Mohsin also stepped down from his leadership role although remains a co-owner, with TDR assuming control in 2024.
The retailer continued to struggle, with losses reaching £1 billion last year.
It finally saw positive sales growth in 2026, following the return of Leighton in November 2024 as executive chairman.
Commenting on the 2026 results earlier this year, Leighton said Asda was in “the foothills of recovery” and the team had been working on “availability” and “pricing”.
The retailer also revealed an ecommerce fulfilment partnership with Ocado in May as part of this turnaround strategy, which Leighton said would help bolster its troubled online business.
The summer then saw the Leeds-based business announce plans to cut around 150 head office roles. This followed redundancies the year prior which saw nearly 7,500 jobs removed across its operations in an attempt to bring costs down.
Speaking on the business reset and appointment of Potts, Leighton said: “Over the last two years, we have stabilised the business and returned it to some growth and begun to establish Asda as ‘more than a supermarket’ through our Formula for Growth strategy.
“David has an outstanding record in our industry, his experience is exactly what we now require for the next stage of our transformation and beyond and it will be great to work with him.”
Potts added: “Asda has long been a great business, one I’ve admired and traded against over many years. The colleagues are remarkable, some of the most passionate I’ve met.
“The business has made good progress but significant opportunities remain and I’m delighted and very proud to have been asked by Allan to lead the team.
“Providing value to families across the UK has always been in Asda’s DNA and by making improvements to the shopping trip every week, which customers can experience and feel in their pockets, we will revitalise the business and bring benefits for all our stakeholders, including our 116,296 very hard-working colleagues.
“Christmas is upon us and the business has a clear focus on keeping Asda prices locked low at this important time for our customers. I’m excited to get started.”
