W. Morrison Says Five Senior Executives to Stand Down

By Saabira Chaudhuri

London--Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) on Tuesday said five senior executives would step down, as the new chief executive of the U.K.'s fourth-largest supermarket chain vowed to simplify its management structure.

"I will now be constructing a leaner management board, with the aim of simplifying and speeding up the business," said CEO David Potts.

Morrisons said marketing and digital director Nick Collard, retail director Martyn Fletcher, property and strategy director Gordon Mowat, logistics director Neal Austin and convenience managing director Nigel Robertson are leaving. The company has named Andy Atkinson and Clare Grainger as interim marketing and retail director respectively.

Earlier this month, the Bradford, England-based retailer took a huge property write-down, reporting a large loss for the fiscal year, while Morrisons also said it would close 23 convenience stores, and "significantly" slow the rollout of more. The departure of Mr. Mowat and Mr. Robertson means that Morrisons board won't house executives in the areas of property and convenience.

Mr. Potts only started at Morrisons on March 16, replacing Dalton Philips who left in February. The new CEO caught investors' attention last week when, on his first day at work, he uploaded a video of himself to YouTube saying he wanted to "listen as hard as I possibly can to as many of our customers as I can."

Mr. Potts has been in grocery retailing for over 40 years, starting at Tesco in 1973 on the shop floor, rising to become retail director in the U.K. and chief executive of its Irish businesses.

Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at [e-mail]

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