Carrefour's incoming CEO to take helm early

Paris -- The world’s second largest retailer behind Wal-Mart said Thursday that its leadership will change hands earlier than planned. France's Carrefour said that current CEO Lars Olofsson had retired at a board meeting on Wednesday, and that incoming chief Georges Plassat will take over as chief executive immediately.



Plassat joined Carrefour last month as COO. He was supposed to make his CEO transition effective June 18. He will take charge of an aggressive turnaround effort intended to reverse years of underperformance.