CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia Leaving Company
Ahold Delhaize has revealed that Wouter Kolk, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia, has decided to step down from the management board by the end of the year.
Kolk joined the retail conglomerate in 1991 as a management trainee. Over the next 16 years he held several international commercial and general management roles, including Asia-Pacific commercial director, regional director at Albert Heijn, general manager for Gall & Gall and general manager for Etos. He joined the Ahold Delhaize management board in October 2018 as CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe and Indonesia.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to leave Ahold Delhaize,” said Kolk. “I have always loved this company, its people and the business, and have spent the majority of my career at Ahold Delhaize and its brands, but I am at a point in my career where I feel I can also bring my leadership, passion and experience to life at a different company. Having recently been nominated to join the supervisory board of AkzoNobel, I am looking forward to further broadening my horizon in the executive and non-executive space.”
Kolk will stay on as a management board member through 2024. According to the company, information about succession will be shared in due course.
Frans Muller, president and CEO of Ahold Delhaize, said: “We will miss Wouter as our colleague in the management board. His enthusiasm for, and detailed knowledge of, the business have been of outstanding value to our company. We are glad we have more time together in 2024 to plan for and ensure an effective transition.”
Peter Agnefjäll, chair of the Ahold Delhaize supervisory board, added: “We thank Wouter for his passion and long-standing experience in our industry, which have contributed to our company's success. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors, which we know he will shape with the energy and curiosity he brings to everything he does.”
For its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023, Ahold Delhaize reported group net sales of €23.0 billion (US $25.0 billion), up 1.9% at constant exchange rates and down 1.4% at actual exchange rates. Q4 comparable sales excluding gas rose by 1.8% for the group, with a decline of 1.0% in the United States and an increase of 6.5% in Europe.
Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, operates more than 2,000 stores and 20 distribution centers across 20-plus states. It is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. companies include its local brands Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co., Hannaford, and Stop & Shop. PG also named Ahold Delhaize USA one of its Retailers of the Century.
