In the fast-evolving landscape of British retail, one name is rapidly emerging as the defining figure of 2025: Rami Baitiéh, the new CEO of Morrisons. With a bold leadership style rooted in pragmatism, deep operational insight, and a commitment to listening to customers, Baitiéh is being compared by many to the legendary Sir Terry Leahy—former Tesco CEO—who transformed British retail in the early 2000s. Now, in a post-pandemic, digitally driven, and highly competitive marketplace, Baitiéh is breathing new life into Morrisons and positioning the legacy retailer for a powerful resurgence.
Appointed CEO in late 2023, Baitiéh wasted no time in setting the tone for cultural transformation across the company. One of his most lauded initiatives has been his uncompromising focus on customer-centricity. At Morrisons, customers are no longer simply shoppers—they are stakeholders. In a rare but powerful move, Baitiéh introduced regular in-store roundtables with customers and even invited them to management meetings to share unfiltered feedback directly with senior executives. These sessions go beyond tokenism; they form the basis of strategic decisions on pricing, assortment, and service delivery.
Operationally, Morrisons has become more agile under his direction. Leveraging cutting-edge retail tech, Baitiéh oversaw the installation of AI-powered cameras across Morrisons’ estate to monitor shelf stock levels in real time. This innovation enables staff to replenish shelves precisely when needed, reducing stockouts and elevating customer satisfaction. This efficiency drive extends across the supply chain and is backed by a renewed focus on product availability, which had been an area of concern in recent years.
However, Baitiéh’s ambitions go far beyond operations. Understanding that sustainable leadership starts with people, he founded the Sir Ken Morrison Leadership School, named after the company’s founder. The school is more than a symbolic gesture—it is a structured initiative to nurture the next generation of leaders. Senior executives, including Chairman Sir Terry Leahy himself, mentor upcoming talent and instil the values of commitment, integrity, and excellence. Baitiéh recognises that a strong internal culture is essential to long-term success, and he is investing heavily in this area.
Sustainability is also high on his agenda. In a move that garnered industry-wide attention, Morrisons began piloting an energy-saving initiative that raises freezer temperatures by three degrees. This simple adjustment leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption and carbon emissions—an innovative yet practical example of how operational change can support environmental goals. It’s a reflection of Baitiéh’s ethos: small changes, implemented well, can lead to significant results.
Equally impressive has been the revamp of the Morrisons More Card. Under Baitiéh’s leadership, the loyalty programme has become more digitally integrated and relevant to modern shoppers. The aim is to increase the share of transactions involving the loyalty scheme from 50% to 70%, enhancing customer engagement through personalised offers, broader redemption options, and full integration across online platforms and convenience stores. In a sector where loyalty is hard-won and easily lost, this reimagining of the customer rewards programme is both timely and strategic.
These sweeping changes are already delivering tangible results. In the final quarter of 2024, Morrisons reported a 4.9% increase in like-for-like sales—the retailer’s strongest quarterly performance in four years. The financial rebound is being widely attributed to Baitiéh’s decisive leadership and his ability to execute quickly, communicate clearly, and motivate teams across all levels of the organisation.
Just as Sir Terry Leahy once redefined supermarket leadership through data-driven insight, customer obsession, and bold thinking, Rami Baitiéh is now charting a similarly transformative course for Morrisons. With his unique blend of vision, discipline, and humility, he is not only stabilising one of Britain’s most historic grocers—he is setting a new benchmark for what leadership in the retail industry should look like in 2025 and beyond.
Rami Baitiéh may well be remembered as the Terry Leahy of 2025—not because he imitates the past, but because he redefines the future.