Allan Leighton

The man who sold ASDA to US retail giant Wal-Mart in 1999 for £6.7 billion, Allan Leighton is a renown businessman, current Chairman of Asda, former chairman of The Co-operative Group, former chief executive of Pandora, and former non-executive chairman of the Royal Mail. He is also the co-owner of Brackley Town FC.

Fresh out of the education system, aged 19 Allan joined Lloyds Bank as a cashier in 1972 before starting his business career in 1974, as a salesman with Mars Confectionery — working his way through the ranks for 18 years before leaving in 1991. He then joined Pedigree Petfoods, where he was Sales Director until his move in 1992 to join Archie Norman's management team at ASDA Stores Limited.

Allan joined ASDA as Group Marketing Director, and was appointed Chief Executive four years later in 1996. It was in this role that Allan was credited with turning around what he once described as a 'basket case' into a highly successful company. And in 1999, Allan sold ASDA to American retail giant Wal-Mart for £6.7 billion, also becoming President and CEO of Wal-Mart Europe.

After leaving Asda/Wal-Mart at the end of 2000, Allan Leighton developed a new work ethic - 'Going Plural' as he took on non-executive positions in a string of companies including lastminute.com, Leeds United, BHS, BSkyB and Selfridges.

In 2002, he joined Royal Mail as company Chairman and whilst in the post he drove a period of modernisation that transformed Royal Mail from loss making into a profitable business. Allan stepped down from his role in March 2009 making him Royal Mail's longest serving Chairman.

In early 2015, The Co-operative Group appointed Allan Leighton as its new independent non-executive chairman, making him the first independent chairman for the business. His later roles included chairman of Simba Sleep from August 2018, chairman of C&A from 2020, plus chairman at BrewDog from September 2021. He also served as a non-executive director at Dyson, BSkyB and Scottish Power.

In November 2024, he was appointed Executive Chairman of Asda, returning to the business after 24 years.

Allan Leighton is an experienced and sought-after keynote speaker with a hard-to-match list of credentials and business successes under his belt. During his presentations he draws upon that wealth of experience to deliver a straight talking, highly captivating speech for any business audience.

Topics covered include leadership, diversity, business strategy, communication, teamwork, customer service, change management and many more.

Allan Leighton is also a highly entertaining and captivating individual and is the perfect choice as a more informal after dinner speaker, where hard-nosed business is cast aside in favour of his own personal journey including a wealth of anecdotes and stories.

Allan's witty, real-life anecdotes and ability to poke fun at the more formal elements of the business make for a lively and engaging evening.

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Allan Leighton. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.