Walmart has named Andy Clarke as the new ceo at Asda.
Currently chief operating officer of the supermarket chain, Mr Clarke will take up his new position immediately as former ceo Andy Bond moves to his new role as chairman of Asda's executive committee.

Mr Bond said: "I'm delighted to appoint Andy Clarke to be my successor. He was clearly the right choice from the internal and external candidates we considered. I'm looking forward to doing everything I can to ensure a smooth transition for Andy in his new role."

Mr Clarke joined Asda in 1992, and has worked in a variety of roles including store manager, business unit director of several categories and retail managing director for Asda's central division. Betweek 2001 and 2005, he had senior roles at Matalan and Iceland before returning to Asda as retail director. He was appointed as Asda's chief operating officer in 2007.

President and ceo of Walmart International Doug McMillon said: "At Walmart and at A we have a robust succession planning and talent development process and Andy Clarke has long been identified as a leader. With his long career at Asda, working first as a store manager, followed by key roles in trading, as retail director and most recently as COO, Andy knows the company, our colleagues and he cares about our customers. He is the ideal person for the job and this will be a seamless leadership change."

The new ceo will now be charged with hitting Asda's ambitious targets to become the number one non-food retailer and a clear number two in food.