Asda has raided Lidl to strengthen its senior leadership team, hiring chief operating officer Matt Heslop, as it inks a new AI deal to help with decision-making across the business.
Heslop is set to lead the supermarket’s stores and depots operation, including the 470 convenience sites in its newly-established Asda Express division.
He has spent over 20 years at Lidl in various senior operational roles. His experience in the convenience sector has been called out as “particularly important” to help accelerate Asda Express’ position in the £40bn convenience market.
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Additionally, Matt Kelleher, whose appointment as chief digital officer was announced in January, will join the grocer in July to oversee its ecommerce and data functions.
Kelleher, who previously served as Morrisons’ chief information officer, will lead Asda’s technology function once its IT separation from Walmart completes later in the year.
The grocer also revealed it had been mutually decided that its senior vice president of ecommerce and retail south, Simon Gregg would exit the business in July.
Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa said: “I’m delighted to announce Matt Heslop’s appointment to lead a critical part of our operation and drive the next stage of our growth journey.
“He is an experienced operator with a proven track record in managing substantial retail operations in a fast-growing company.”
“Along with Matt Kelleher, who assumes the role of chief digital officer in July, these appointments further strengthen the leadership team as we continue to deliver against our strategy.”
Elsewhere, the grocery giant has unveiled a new gen AI platform that it claims will “unlock new levels of operational agility”.
Developed in partnership with artificial intelligence firm Harley, the new tech is aimed at providing Asda’s leadership with “live, actionable insights” to make it easier for the supermarket’s executives to make quick and informed decisions.
The new platform is designed to rapidly answer users’ questions and contains features that can form charts to visualise data, create tables for calculations and plain text.
Asda will be provided with real-time insights and descriptive analytics of datasets, including tracking sales growth of a particular store, or examining how weather conditions and product availability influences sales.
The grocer’s vice president of data and analytics Simon Jury said that by integrating the platform into Asda’s data ecosystem, the collaboration would unlock “new levels of operational agility through rapid data driven decision-making, setting a new standard within the retail industry”.
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