Andy Bond

Andrew James Bond (born March 16, 1965 in Grantham) is the Chief Executive Officer of ASDA.

Early life

His father was a plumber and his mother a nurse. He went to The King's School, Grantham, even though initially having failed the Eleven Plus, he gained four A levels. He received a first-class BEng Hons in Gas Engineering from Salford University in 1987 as part of a British Gas scholarship spending a year on the job in the gas industry. He started as a graduate trainee engineer with British Gas. In 1988, he worked for Manchester-based Hopkinsons Group, one of British Gas's suppliers, as a marketing manager. In 1992-3, he studied for an MBA at Cranfield School of Management.

Career

He began at ASDA as a marketing manager for Archie Norman, when aged 29 in April 1994, having been top of his course at Cranfield. He was noted for his determination and eye for detail. At ASDA, he worked under Allan Leighton and with Justin King, Richard Baker and [http://www.hbosplc.com/abouthbos/directors_biogs.asp Andy Hornby] . In 1998, he became corporate marketing director, then in 1999, he became European own-label director. In November 2000, he headed the GEORGE clothing part of ASDA (worth about £1bn a year on its own in the UK, and based near Lutterworth), working with designer Kate Bostock, after the potentially-damaging departure of George Davies. He became Chief Operating Officer in September 2004, then CEO in March 2005 looking after ASDA's 140,000 employees. He [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/business-analysis-managers-fired-on-the-spot-as-asda-fights-the-flab-with-1400-job-cuts-497761.html sacked] 1,400 middle-management staff in July 2005. He claims to make 'massive amounts more money than Sainsbury's and Morrisons put together', although in fiscal context Morrisons have not been seeing much profit recently. His recent nemeses have been the GMB in 2006 and hard-pressed dairy farmers.

Personal life

He lives in Harrogate with his wife, Susan, and their son (born January 1998) and daughter (born November 1999), having formerly lived in Bitteswell. He married Susan Stringfellow in April 1997 in North Yorkshire. He maintains his level of fitness rigorously - cycling over 100 miles at a go and sometimes cycles into work. He drives a MINI and enthusiastically attends Robbie Williams concerts.

External links

* [http://www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/511 Opening the new Salford Business School in May 2007]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/supermarkets/story/0,,2083667,00.html May 2007 "Guardian" article - Bond, licensed to sell]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/11/05/cnasda05.xml November 2006 "Telegraph" article on employing 1,800 people to belatedly improve ASDA's internet presence]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article344685.ece February 2006 "Independent" article - A day in the life of Andy Bond]
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/student/postgraduate/mbas-guide/me-and-my-mba-andy-bond-asda-chief-executive-523575.html January 2006 "Independent" article - Me and My MBA]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4360849.stm Becoming ASDA boss in March 2005]
* [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article825860.ece November 2002 "Times" article on his GEORGE empire]

Video clips

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/video/88000/bb/88146_16x9_bb.ram April 2007 interview on BBC Breakfast]