AN 18-year-old who left school with no qualifications has launched a campaign to be installed as chief executive of the convenience store giant Nisa Retail.
Harris Aslam who already sits on the board of the member-owned business as a non-executive director, hopes to take over from current boss Neil Turton, who last month announced he was leaving the chain after 23 years.
The teenager, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, worked for his family's grocery business after leaving school aged 13 and joined Nisa's board three years later.
Nisa has annual sales of £1.6 billion and supplies more than 1,000 independent shops with food and drink. Its mutual model allows its hundreds of members to vote for the company directors. Mr Aslam won a place on the board after lobbying Nisa's grassroots membership. His cousin Raza Rehman also joined the board and the pair are said to have gathered more supporters among the non-executive team.
He previously worked as a youth board director at B&Q and is now studying for a law degree at Abertay University, Dundee, as well as a part time Master of Arts degree at the University of St Andrews. He already runs three shops in the Fife area with Mr Rehman and plans to take over six post offices.
According to an interview with a Sunday newspaper Mr Aslam believes Nisa needs someone "young and passionate to take the business forward". He said: "Two years ago there was criticism when I applied for the [non-executive] role.
"I was against three other applicants who had a lot more experience, but the membership chose me. It wasn't by a small majority, it was a clear majority."
Nisa faces a challenging 12 months with Amanda Jones, chief operating officer, also announcing her departure to become chief operating officer at Conviviality Retail.
The food and drink supplier's biggest customer, Costcutter, ended its 27-year partnership with Nisa in July and signed a deal with rival wholesaler Palmer and Harvey, swiping £500 million in sales from Nisa's accounts.
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