Asda faces another senior management exit as Vice President for Ambient, Adrian McLeod, prepares to leave less than six months after re-joining.
McLeod, previously a leader at Accolade Wines, re-joined Asda in January amid executive chairman Allan Leighton’s management restructuring.
Leighton said McLeod “understands the language of Asda” when he joined.
McLeod’s appointment comes after he first joined the supermarket chain in 2010 and was later promoted to Asda brand director.
He left the company in 2014 and has since held positions such as Regional Managing Director for Europe at Accolade Wines, as well as Interim Commercial Director and Integrations Director for Pilgrim’s Europe.
McLeod’s departure is another setback for the grocer, which has faced multiple senior departures and ongoing challenges while striving to stabilize under new ownership.
An Asda spokesperson said “Ade re-joined Asda to support a significant period of change and has played a key role in helping to deliver this during the last six months. Ade has signalled his desire to be nearer to home (he lives in West London) and get some balance back into his life.
“Given the amount of work we have to do, it was felt that the time was right to make a change now and to implement the right succession plan which we will communicate in due course.”
The supermarket chain is reportedly still in search of a new CEO, following a series of recent senior management hires.
Earlier in May, Asda announced the appointment of Rachel Eyre, former Morrisons marketing director, as its new chief customer officer, succeeding David Hills.
