Woolworths CEO steps down after 13 years

Woolworths Group has announced its managing director and group chief executive, Brad Banducci, will retire after 13 years with the company, and eight-and-a-half years as group chief executive.  

“It has been a privilege to be a member of the Woolies team and one I have never taken for granted,” Banducci said.  

Woolworths Group chair, Scott Perkins said Woolworths Group has been fortunate to have Brad as its leader. 

“The test of any chief executive is to leave the business in much better shape than when they started,” Perkins said.  

“On that simple metric, history will judge Brad to have been one of Woolworths Group’s finest leaders.” 

Amanda Bardwell will take over as managing director and group chief executive after 23 years with the company including a stint as head of marketing.  

“Amanda is a proven leader, business builder and modern retailer. Most recently, under her leadership, WooliesX has gone from infancy in 2015 to a A$7bn market leading business,” Perkins said.  

“Amanda is highly respected throughout the organisation, and I know, like Brad, will live our purpose and work hard to achieve Woolworths Group’s full potential.”  

Banducci’s resignation was announced as Woolworths Group released its half year results for the six months ending 31 December 2023. The company posted a profit (net profit after tax) of A$929m, up 2.2 per cent on the same period in 2022. Banducci said the group’s first half result was mixed and reflects solid results from its Australian Food and e-commerce segments. 

“Importantly, inflation in our food businesses continued to moderate during the half as favourable conditions in fruit and vegetables and Meat led to price reductions in these categories. 

“In Australian Food, H1 sales increased 5.4 per cent (Q2: 4.5 per cent) and EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) increased 9.9 per cent with around two-thirds of Australian Food EBIT growth attributable to WooliesX (including eComX, Cartology and Services). EComX sales grew 21.3 per cent in the half due to strong growth in our Same Day offers with eComX DAP up 185 per cent driven by pick and delivery process optimisation and increased scale.” 

Banducci’s resignation also comes amid several measures looking into price setting practices and market power of major supermarkets. These include the Senate inquiry announced in December 2023 and a recent ACCC inquiry.