Ahold Delhaize nominates next CEO
A change at the helm is coming for a global grocery giant.
The Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize’s supervisory board has nominated Thierry Garnier for appointment as a member of the management board and to serve as the company’s next president and CEO. Thierry is expected to succeed Frans Muller around the annual general meeting of shareholders to be held in April 2027. Muller will retire from the company and step down as president and CEO after leading the company since July 2018.
Thierry, French and British national, has served as CEO of Kingfisher, an international home improvement retailer, since September 2019. Prior to joining Kingfisher, he spent more than two decades at French retail giant 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. Thierry is also a non-executive director at British retailer Tesco.
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“We are pleased to nominate Thierry as our proposed next president and CEO,” said Wiebe Draijer, chair of the supervisory board of Ahold Delhaize. “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.”
Mueller joined Ahold Delhaize in 2013 as CEO of Delhaize Group. He served as deputy CEO and chief integration officer of the company after the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group in 2016.
Mueller was also acting chief operating officer for Delhaize America from October 2016 until January 2018. He was appointed president and CEO of Ahold Delhaize on July 1, 2018, and reappointed in 2023.
Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Ahold Delhaize, operates nearly 2,000 stores in the United States, through its banners Food Lion, The Giant Company, Giant Food, Hannaford and Stop & Shop.
“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,” added Draijer. “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.”
Ahold Delhaize is one of the world’s largest food retail groups. The company’s family of local brands serves approximately 63 million customers each week, both in stores and online, in the United States, Europe and Indonesia.
