Asda has appointed former Morrisons chief executive David Potts as its new CEO with immediate effect, as the struggling supermarket seeks to accelerate its recovery strategy. Veteran boss Allan Leighton will return to a non-executive chairman role, two years after he rejoined the business.
The move comes as Asda records sales growth for the first time in years, amid intense pressure from discount retailers Aldi and Lidl to maintain competitive pricing and enhance the quality of its food range.
Career background and appointment
David Potts started his career at Tesco, rising from the deli counter to head of its Asian operations during a 40-year tenure, before becoming chief executive of Morrisons in 2015. He led Morrisons until its acquisition by private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice in 2023, when he was succeeded by Rami Baitiéh.
Allan Leighton, who previously served as Asda's chief executive during its 1990s golden era, returned to the supermarket chain as executive chairman in November 2024, charged with restoring the troubled retailer to its former glory.
Change of direction
Potts's appointment represents a substantial change of direction for the retailer, which had previously indicated it would ultimately promote a chief executive from within the company's current leadership team. In August, Leighton told City AM that naming a chief executive was "not imminent".
He said: "The preference would be to appoint a CEO from inside the company, and we have a very highly talented group of executives, and my hope is that somebody would emerge from the group. But that is not imminent yet because we're still working with the group that we've got to deliver what we're doing. But that's the intent."
Reactions and performance
Tuesday's announcement draws a close to Leighton's tenure as executive chair, just two years after he took on the role. Leighton remarked over the summer that his turnaround efforts had brought Asda to the "foothills of recovery".
He said on Tuesday: "I am really excited to have appointed David as Group CEO. 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 acknowledged that "significant opportunities" remain within Asda's recovery journey, while commending the business's "good progress" achieved under Leighton's stewardship.
He said: "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."
Asda recorded 0.2 per cent sales growth over the summer, following more than two years of declining figures. The retailer slipped to a £989m pre-tax loss in 2025, although its net debt reduced by £500m to £3.1bn.
