Asda appoints Lord Rose as chair
Asda has appointed former Marks & Spencer chief executive and chairman Lord Rose as its chair.
In addition, Dame Alison Carnwath will join its board as a non-executive director.
The Asda board currently comprises co-owners of Asda Mohsin and Zuber Issa and Manjit Dale and Gary Lindsay of TDR Capital, as well as Chris Nicholas, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Walmart US. Asda said the new appointments will strengthen the board and demonstrate its commitment to strong governance.
Due to take up his role on 1 December, Rose has a wealth of retail experience having also held executive positions at the Burton Group, Argos, Booker and Arcadia. His non-executive career has spanned Woolworth Holdings and more recently Ocado, where he spent seven years as chairman until 2020. He is currently chairman of Zenith Automotive and EG Group, the Issa brothers’ petrol forecourt business.
Meanwhile, Carnwath has been a non-executive director of some of the UK’s leading companies. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Peat Marwick Mitchell, she then worked in corporate finance at Lloyds and J Henry Schroder Wagg in New York. She has since held a number of board positions at Barclays, the Man Group, BP and Zurich Insurance Group and has also been chair of Vitec and Land Securities Group. Earlier this year, she was appointed to the EG Group board and leads its audit committee.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa said: “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.”
