B&M has announced the appointment of Atheeq Akbar as its new chief financial officer, after eight months without a permanent person in the role.

Akbar will take over from Pete Waterhouse, the interim chief financial officer at B&M, in February 2027.

He is currently vice president for commercial finance at ASDA, where he has worked for over two years. He previously held various senior roles over six years at Morrisons, including finance director for commercial, group, and operations.

Prior to joining Morrisons Akbar spent over four years at Etihad Airways in a variety of financial roles.

Tjeerd Jegen, chief executive officer at B&M, said Akbar was selected after an “extensive search”.

“His strong commercial background in UK retail will be a great asset as we bring about change to deepen the financial foundations of our business,” he added. “I look forward to partnering with Atheeq and would like to thank Pete Waterhouse for his continued leadership as Interim CFO in the meantime as we bring about a seamless transition in this important role."

B&M’s former chief financial officer, Mike Schmidt, left the company in October 2025 after a £7 million accounting error which the company said meant overseas freight costs were “not correctly recognised in cost of goods sold”.

Helen Cowing succeeded him as interim CFO but left the role less than five months later, leading to Waterhouse taking on the title in April.

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