Asda announces two senior appointments as changes continue

From early December, Lauren Lepley will take up role of vice president for central operations, while Mark Henry will join in January as a vice president with responsibility for Asda’s southern store operations.

Lepley currently serves as the group supply chain director at Morrisons, a role she has been in since August 2021, while Henry has acted as group director of asset protection at Marks & Spencer for the past two years.

With more than 14 years of experience in the grocery sector, Lepley has also worked as a store manager for Tesco.

As for Henry, he has over 25 years of operational experience and previously served as chief operating officer for Lidl Finland.

Both will report to Asda’s new chief operations officer Matt Heslop, who joins the business in January from Lidl.

Heslop, whose hire was first announced during the summer, will lead Asda’s stores and depots operation in addition to supporting the growth of the Asda Express division.

“We are very pleased to welcome Lauren and Mark to Asda,”​ said Asda chair Lord Rose.

“They both bring a wealth of retail experience and proven track records in delivering operational excellence. This will be invaluable as we strengthen our business and deliver our long-term growth ambitions.”​

All change at Asda

These hires are just the latest in a series of personnel changes at Asda as the supermarket seeks to improve its performance.

Just last month, co-owner Mohsin Issa stepped away from his day-to-day role, with Lord Rose assuming his responsibilities.​​

Lord Rose previously said he was “embarrassed” ​by Asda’s recent results, with like-for-like sales decreasing by 2.1% during H1.

As part of its bid to ”deliver an enhanced and more consistent in-store experience for customers”, ​other recent hires include Andrew Staniland, former group buying director at Iceland Foods, and David Devaney, former VP of eCommerce at Iceland Foods, both of whom will join Asda as VPs next year.

The retailer also recently confirmed that Chris McKellar, VP retail south east, will leave the business in the new year to take up a career opportunity overseas and that Simon Jury, VP data and analytics, is leaving at the end of the year to take up a new role closer to home.

In other news, the Competition and Markets Authority has launched a phase 1 investigation into the proposed acquisition of Britvic by Carlsberg.​​