The UK’s third-largest supermarket chain Asda has announced the departure of its retail boss less than 10 months after joining.

The company said on Monday that retail and logistics director Ken Towle will leave the company by mutual consent. The former Tesco director who spent over 30 years at the supermarket chain, agreed to join Asda in January 2022 from Nisa where he served as chief executive. The exec however only joined Asda in May, with no reason given for his departure.

Asda has also announced the appointment of Aldi’s David HIlls as its chief customer officer. Hills, who currently serves as group director, marketing and communications at German discount supermarket chain Aldi, will take up the position later this year. Hills has been at Aldi since 2007, holding his current position since 2013.

Acting chief customer officer Sam Dickson will continue in this role until the arrival of Hills, and will then oversee strategic Asda and George brand customer propositions.

Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda said: “I am delighted to welcome David to our business. Over the past 12 months, Asda has demonstrated its absolute focus on ensuring customers are at the heart of its decision making and as we continue to build our great brand for the future, his expertise will bring a new perspective to our existing strength and breadth of leadership.

“The customer team led by Sam has delivered new customer propositions such as Just Essentials, and Dropped and Locked that show how we are supporting customers during these challenging times. Sam will support David when he joins before transitioning into a new role looking at strategic customer initiatives. I would also like to thank Ken Towle for his contribution to the business and wish him the best for the future.”

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