The chief financial officer of Asda, which is planning to merge with J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY), is to step down from the business at the end of July to join retailer Wilko.
Alex Russo, who has been CFO for the past four and half years, will be replaced by Rob McWilliam.
READ: Sainsbury's-Asda merger raises competition concerns, CMA reveals
McWilliam worked for Asda for 15 years before leaving in 2012 to lead finance and consumables for Amazon UK. He returned to Asda in January on a consultancy basis.
“We’ve been looking for a CFO who combines a deep knowledge of UK grocery retail, knowledge of Asda and Walmart relationships, and the skills to support the work we have to do to successfully complete our combination with Sainsbury’s,” said Asda chief executive Roger Burnley.
Wilko confirmed in a separate statement that Russo has been appointed its new CFO to help lead the company's strategic growth plan.
“Alex’s breadth of business and finance experience complements and strengthens our existing leadership team nicely and means we can continue into the next chapter of our transformation programme with even greater confidence," said non-executive family director Lisa Wilkinson.
The news comes after Sainsbury’s proposed a £7.3bn takeover of Walmart Inc’s (NYSE:WMT) Asda in April. The UK Competition and Markets Authority is currently investigating the deal.