Regional supermarkets chain Nakumatt has appointed a former executive of British retail giant Tesco to run its marketing activities.

The appointment comes at a crucial time for the retailer as it prepares to complete a transaction offloading a 25 per cent stake to a deep-pocketed investor who is expected to pull it out of a debt crisis.

the announcement came this week but on his LinkedIn page, Dixon says he began working for Nakumatt in November last year.

In the management shakeup that introduces three new operational positions, Nakumatt said on Thursday, it has appointed Andrew Dixon – who once served as an executive director at Tesco – for the position of chief marketing officer.

“Nakumatt Holdings is happy to announce the appointment of Mr Andrew Dixon, Mr Manoj Warrier and Mr James Gakumo as the new chief marketing officer, chief information officer and chief risk officer respectively,” Nakumatt managing director Atul Shah said in a statement.

It employed over 5,500, and had gross annual revenue in excess of US$450 million in December 2015. At that time, it had plans to enter other African countries and to increase the number of stores in the countries where it already had a presence.

Mr Shah said that Nakumatt, Kenya’s biggest retail chain with 61 stores across East Africa, will be seeking to tap the three executives’ vast experience in retail operations gained from their previous local and international postings.

“The new executives will be charged with the responsibility of reinvigorating the key dockets as the retailer seeks to scale new heights,” said Mr Shah.