Delhaize Europe CEO Resigns

International retail conglomerate Delhaize Group has revealed that Stéfan Descheemaeker is resigning as CEO of Delhaize Europe as of Oct. 31.

“In both his former capacity as CFO and then as CEO of Delhaize Europe, Stéfan has been an energetic leader who raised the organization’s focus on cash-flow generation and brought the company to a higher level of performance while steadfastly promoting the company values,” noted Delhaize Group CEO Pierre-Olivier Beckers, who himself is retiring in November and will be succeeded by Frans Muller, formerly CEO of Dusseldorf, Germany-based self-service wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry. Beckers will remain as an advisor until the end of the year and serve on the board of directors thereafter.

As a result of Descheemaeker’s departure, Brussels-based Delhaize Group is making the following organizational changes, effective Nov. 1: Kostas Macheras, Delhaize Group EVP, current member of the group executive committee, and CEO of Delhaize Group Southeast Europe and Asia, and Dirk Van den Berghe, CEO of Delhaize Belgium, will both report directly to the group CEO.

“I look forward to working directly with both Kostas and Dirk to continue building on the positive momentum of our European businesses to generate further progress,” said Muller. “Equally, I look forward to partnering with our group CFO, Pierre Bouchut, so that we can continue improving the focus and performance of the overall group. This will be amongst my key priorities, in addition to working directly with the Delhaize America team while I evaluate and search for the best candidate to fill the Delhaize America CEO role.”