LONDON – Walmart’s British supermarket arm Asda has promoted head of operations Roger Burnley to become CEO, replacing Sean Clarke after just 18 months and tasking him with building on the firm’s nascent recovery in the face of brutal competition. U.S. group Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, said on Monday that Burnley, a 51 year old Yorkshireman, would succeed Sean Clarke as Asda president and chief executive on Jan. 1. Burnley is currently chief operating officer and deputy CEO.
Analysts had expected Burnley to succeed Clarke as Walmart had identified him as “a future CEO” when he re-joined Asda last year. However, some were surprised by the speed of his elevation to the top job.
“A good deal earlier than we thought … but not a surprise that Roger is the man,” said Shore Capital analyst Clive Black.
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