Delhaize Group Appoints EVP/CFO

International food retail conglomerate Delhaize Group has hired Pierre Bouchut to be its new CFO, effective March 19, in which capacity he will be responsible for finance, strategy and M&A. A veteran of such well-known European retailers as Carrefour and Casino, Bouchut will also be a member of the group’s executive committee.

“In addition to his strong financial background and expertise, Pierre Bouchut has built a very rich experience spanning the almost full spectrum of the food retail business, from operational to general management, in a highly international environment,” noted Pierre-Olivier Beckers, president and CEO of Brussels-based Delhaize. “The experience Pierre gained in emerging markets and in areas such as multiformat retailing, including discount formats, integration of acquisitions, procurement, centralization of the supply chain, to name a few, is of particular relevance to our growth ambitions and further drive the efficiency of the group in accordance with our New Game Plan.”

Added Bouchut: “I will focus on the New Game Plan’s priority of accelerating revenue growth and on enhancing shareholder value.”

Bouchut was most recently executive director growth markets of France-based global retailer Carrefour, which he joined as CFO in 2009, overseeing operations in Latin America (Brazil, Columbia and Argentina) and in Turkey, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. He also had responsibility for Carrefour Personal Financial Services operations worldwide. Between 1990 and 2005, Pierre was with Groupe Casino, also based in France, where he held the successive positions of CFO, managing director and CEO responsible for both French and international operations (USA, Poland, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Venezuela). Between 2005 and 2009, Bouchut was CFO of French company Schneider Electric, a worldwide energy management company, developing various initiatives in the areas of structured finance, risk management and external growth. Earlier in his career, he worked at such companies as Citibank, Bankers Trust and McKinsey and Co.

Bouchut succeeds Stéfan Descheemaker, who was named CEO of Delhaize Europe on Jan. 1.