Andy Bond

Andy Bond

Former Asda president and CEO Andy Bond has made a dramatic comeback to the hurly-burly of frontline grocery this week after stepping into the role of Poundland executive chairman.

Bond took on the newly created role this week after it emerged Poundland CEO Kevin O’Byrne was jumping ship to become Sainsbury’s CFO. O’Byrne will replace former CFO John Rogers, who left to become CEO of Sainsbury’s Argos in September.

Until now Bond has held a more strategic role as CEO of Pepkor Europe, owned by South African retail giant Steinhoff International, the group that acquired the 75% of Poundland it didn’t already own for £466m in September.

The key focus of Bond’s new role will be the integration of Pepkor’s other UK businesses - clothing retailer Pep&Co and discounter GHM - into the Poundland operation.

Another senior Steinhoff figure, Sean Cardinaal, has also joined the Poundland board as part of his new role as Pepkor Europe COO. He will start in January and will be based in the UK. He will lead the development of international sourcing as well as expansion of business into other countries, taking immediate responsibility for the Dealz business in Spain.

“I also intend to take this opportunity to drive the integration of our other UK businesses into Poundland, making Poundland the clear HQ for our UK operations,” said Bond. “Sean will take the role of ensuring we fully maximise any benefits we can gain from Pep&Co and GHM, as well as ensuring our HR, IT and supply chain functions are shared to leverage benefits,” said Bond. These changes will put Poundland at the centre of all Pepkor operations in both the UK and Europe.”