Asda has strengthened its leadership team with two new senior appointments.

Lauren Lepley is joining as vice president central operations from Morrisons, while Mark Henry joins from Marks & Spencer (M&S) as vice president retail south.

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

Joining in December from Morrisons, Lepley brings more than 16 years’ experience working across the UK and international food retail markets. 

Lepley has been at Morrisons for over eight years. Initially joining as central operations director in 2018, she was eventually promoted to group supply chain director in 2021, with duties involving full end to end aaccountability for the group supply chain, including supermarkets, online and wholesale, convenience stores and imports and exports.

Prior to that, she was a store manager at Tesco, a position she held for four years.

Henry is joining in January from M&S, where he’s currently group director of asset protection, and will have responsibility across Asda’s southern stores operations.

Mark brings over 25 years operational experience to Asda, including his most recent stint as group director of asset protection at M&S, a position he held for more than two years.

From 2004 to 2018 he held a number of senior positions at Lidl, including chief operating officer, regional director, and sales and warehouse organisations director, as well as international roles including as chief operating officer at Lidl Finland.

Asda Chairman Lord Rose said: “We are very pleased to welcome Lauren and Mark to Asda. 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.”

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