Asda marketing chief Zavalis departs after two years

Asda marketing chief Adam Zavalis, who joined two years ago with a mission to refresh the supermarket’s brand, has quit the business and will leave at the end of this week, although his next move is not known.

Zavalis joined from Aldi in November 2023, reporting to chief customer officer David Hills, who started at Asda in September of the same year.

As vice-president of marketing, he led Asda’s marketing campaigns; first through Havas London and then Lucky Generals, which now handles the supermarket’s account.

He began his career at Nissan in 2001 as sales promotion manager before switching agency side to work at Tequila and MRM Singapore. Zavalis then spent over eight years as group account director at McCann Erickson, joining Aldi for the first time in 2013 as UK marketing director.

In 2019, he took up the role of vice-president of brand and marketing communications director at Boots, where, among other roles, he was responsible for launching an in-house content studio, driving greater efficiency and effectiveness and saving over $1m in external costs in its first year.

Some 18 months later, Zavalis returned to Aldi, first as global media director and then marketing director; however, he left in May.

At Asda, he has overseen major campaigns designed to connect customers with Asda’s core proposition of quality and value. He spearheaded the strategy that reportedly led to a “dark green” rebrand and a new push on the “That’s Asda Price” slogan, aiming to restore the brand’s identity as a “consumer champion”.

Asda has already begun the search for a successor, stating that the new role will encompass a wider marketing remit across both the core Asda supermarket and the fashion brand George.