
Published: June 24, 2026 at 9:11 am
B&M has turned to ASDA figure Atheeq Akbar to fill its troublesome CFO role – but he won’t join until 2027.
The retailer’s finance chief Mike Schmidt resigned in October following a £7 million accounting error which triggered a profit warning.
Helen Cowing, a seasoned executive with experience in turnaround strategies, was brought in as interim CFO but a second profit warning followed in January and she left in April, with group financial controller Peter Waterhouse stepping into the role on a temporary basis.
Akbar will join B&M in February 2027. He is currently vice president of commercial finance as ASDA and previously led the retail and manufacturing finance functions at Morrisons before being appointed as a finance director in 2021.