UK's Ocado says CEO Steiner to stay in role through 2028

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Ocado said Tim Steiner would continue to serve as chief executive until the start of the 2028 financial year, when the technology company will aim to have a successor in place following weeks of speculation over its leadership.

Steiner founded Ocado, which supplies automated technology for distribution centres and runs a UK online grocery joint venture with Marks & Spencer, in 2000 with two former Goldman Sachs colleagues.

Confirmation that he will stay on as CEO for two more years follows a tough period for Ocado, after its North American partners - Kroger in the U.S. and Sobeys in Canada - said they would close robotic customer fulfillment centres, blaming weaker-than-expected demand.

Ocado says it can now seek new partners in those markets, but some analysts doubt it will be able to, given a wider industry shift towards fulfilling online orders from stores.

In a leadership transition update on Monday, Ocado said Steiner, 56, would remain in post until the start of 2028 and then help prepare the next generation of leadership, staying on with the group through 2029 in a founder role.

"(He) remains fully committed to driving the company's strategy, operations and growth initiatives throughout this period," Ocado said.

In June, Ocado said it was engaged in long term succession planning after Sky News reported Niklas Heuveldop, chief executive of Vonage, a subsidiary of Sweden's Ericsson, had been sounded out for the role.

Ocado's stock has lost about 20% over the last six months, and in February the company said it would cut 1,000 jobs as part of a cost-saving drive aimed at trying to turn cash-flow positive this year.

Steiner owns a 2.35% stake in Ocado according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Sarah Young in London and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Kate Holton)