Briton David Cheesewright named head of UK, Canada and Africa at Wal-Mart

The US company has appointed David Cheesewright to a new position as head of the retail giant's operations in the UK, Canada and Africa.

In his new role Mr Cheesewright will also oversee business development in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada, reporting to Doug McMillion, Wal-Mart's chief executive.

Mr Cheesewright, who was most recently head of Wal-Mart in Canada, previously worked as chief operating officer at Asda, Wal-Mart's UK retail arm.

In a further change, Wal-Mart also promoted Shelley Broader to replace Mr Cheesewright as head of its Canadian business. She becomes Wal-Mart's first female country president.

Mr McMillion told staff in an internal email that the changes had been driven by the growth of Wal-Mart's international business and the acquisition of South African retailer Massmart Holdings.

"With the exciting addition of Massmart, we've decided it's time to create a new regional leadership team to support our growing businesses in the UK, Africa and Canada," he said. "This team will support the successful integration of Massmart, help lead and leverage the capabilities of our teams in the UK and Canada and have responsibility for future growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. While this doesn't mean we will enter any new countries in this region in the short term, it will increase our understanding of these countries and our ability to respond accordingly over time."

Andy Clarke, who was appointed as chief executive of Asda to succeed Andy Bond last year, will report to Mr Cheesewright.

Wal-Mart said Mr Cheesewright would oversee 283,000 staff and 1,182 stores as part of his new role. The retailer has close to 9,700 shops globally.