Ahold Names Chief Commercial & Development Officer

Ahold has appointed James McCann to the newly created role of chief commercial & development officer on the company’s corporate executive board, effective Sept. 1. The new board position was created to help drive the Amsterdam-based retail conglomerate’s growth strategy. McCann will focus on developing innovative ways to serve customer needs, build customer loyalty and broaden Ahold’s offering. He will also lead the company’s e-commerce initiatives and bolster its online business worldwide, as well as play major part in expanding the Ahold’s operations in new markets.

According to Ahold CEO Dick Boer, McCann “has an impressive background of working in leading roles for a number of international retailers in various countries. His experience in developing businesses in different markets, and his knowledge in e-commerce, building customer relationships and strengthening loyalty, will help us accelerate our initiatives in these key growth areas for our business. [He] will work closely with our chief operating officers for Ahold Europe and Ahold USA.”

A native of Great Britain, McCann started his career at Shell in the United Kingdom in 1992 and joined Mars in 1994, where he worked in various roles in the United Kingdom and Russia. In 1999, McCann joined Sainsbury plc as commercial director, later moving to Tesco, where he worked from 2002 until 2009. He worked for Tesco as COO for Poland, as well as national head of the chain in Malaysia and Hungary. From February 2010 to May 2011, McCann was executive director for Carrefour France and a member of Carrefour’s group executive board.

The Ahold supervisory board will nominate McCann for appointment to its corporate executive board at the company’s annual general meeting of shareholders in April 2012. Until that time, he will be an acting member of the board.