Nisa has appointed former Tesco and Aldi director Nick Read as its new chief executive.

Read joins the retail buying group from Thomas Cook where he was group customer service director.

He has also worked for Vodafone – as commercial operations director – and was also customer experience director at Lloyds Banking Group, customer service director at Tesco and a consultant in Deloitte’s consumer and retail practice.

He started his retail career with Aldi, where he held various roles, culminating as purchasing director.

Read, who takes up the role next month, said: “Nisa provides a best in class service to its member retailers and is taking big steps to improve the retail experience for shoppers.

“I’m looking forward to working with the board and members to ensure that Nisa delivers on its potential. I am passionate about delivering unparalleled service for the customer and I look forward to bringing to Nisa my experience with multi-channel customer organisations so we deliver a winning experience for members and customers.”

Nisa chairman Christopher Baker added: “Nick’s mix of strategic and operational experience and his strong focus on the customer set him apart. He impressed us as the ideal candidate for the CEO role at Nisa, and I believe his management style, commitment and enthusiasm for the Nisa model will enable him to engage with all stakeholders throughout the business.

“Nick is an experienced leader with a cross-sector understanding of shopper behaviour. His skills and insight will be invaluable to our business as we continue to develop as a retail organisation,” Baker added.

Read replaces long-serving CEO Neil Turton, who revealed in September he would be leaving Nisa in the spring to join new company Him! International - a sister company to Him! UK - to provide shopper and retailer insight from convenience and food to go markets around the world.

Turton has worked at Nisa for 23 years and has been CEO since 2007.