German, Dutch execs top Morrisons' headhunt list

The chief of Wal-Mart’s German unit and a Dutch executive boardmember of Heineken are reportedly being eyed by British supermarket chain Morrisons. David Wild (Wal-Mart) and Marc Bolland (Heineken) are in the short list to become chief executive of Morrisons.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, Wild, who is Wal-Mart's president for its German operations, and Bolland, a member of Heineken's executive board, are two of the three final candidates to replace Bob Stott as Morrisons’ CEO. The Morrison board reportedly prefers the two as final candidates. Some market observers, however, say Wild has the edge due to his experience as former Tesco executive. Morrison has set an announcement deadline by next week, but its chairman Ken Morrison warned last week that it could take some more weeks before an official announcement could be made. Morrison, 74, is also expected to announce his own retirement from company activities as soon as the chief executive has been chosen.