Ahold Delhaize announced that its Supervisory Board has nominated Thierry Garnier for appointment as a member of the Management Board and to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This appointment is subject to shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) and customary regulatory approval. Thierry would succeed Frans Muller around the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) on April 2027. Frans will retire from the company and step down as President and CEO after leading the company since July 2018.
About Thierry Garnier
Thierry Garnier (French and British national, 1966) is a business leader with extensive international retail experience. He has served as CEO of Kingfisher plc, an international home improvement retailer, since September 2019. Before joining Kingfisher, he spent more than two decades at Carrefour, where he held a range of senior roles including CEO of Carrefour International, CEO of Carrefour Asia, and member of the group’s executive leadership. He is also a Non-Executive Director at Tesco plc. Industry experts recognize Thierry for driving transformation while balancing group scale with strong local execution.
Wiebe Draijer, Chair of the Supervisory Board of Ahold Delhaize, said: “We are pleased to nominate Thierry as our proposed next President and CEO. He is a seasoned leader with a strong track record in retail, digital transformation, deep international experience, and a clear focus on customers, associates and the future of grocery retail. Thierry’s approach to finding the right balance between leveraging group capabilities and staying close to local markets aligns well with Ahold Delhaize’s identity as a family of great local brands.”
Thierry said: “I am passionate about retail. I have long admired Ahold Delhaize as a company, and I am honored by the nomination. I look forward to getting to know the organization and its great local brands, and to working with teams across the group to keep serving customers well and creating value every day. My focus will be on building on the company’s strong foundations and the Growing Together strategy.”
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About Frans Muller
Frans joined the company in 2013 as CEO of Delhaize Group after a distinguished international career in food retail and wholesale. He served as Deputy CEO and Chief Integration Officer of the company after the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group in 2016. Frans was also Acting Chief Operating Officer for Delhaize America from October 2016 until January 2018. He assumed the role of President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize on July 1, 2018, and the board reappointed him in 2023.
Wiebe added: “Since the start of the merger process, Frans has played a defining role in shaping Ahold Delhaize into the strong, focused company it is today. His leadership, deep understanding of our markets, and unwavering commitment to long-term value creation for all stakeholders have made a lasting mark on the group. I look forward to working closely with Frans in the coming period as he leads the company well into the next phase of execution of the Growing Together strategy, which is already delivering strong results for all stakeholders, and to ensuring a smooth and thoughtful transition as we move toward the planned CEO succession in 2027.”