On April 12, JJ Fleeman took the helm as CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA, succeeding Kevin Holt, who will remain with the large retailer as an advisor until the end of 2023. His official appointment was made at the Ahold Delhaize annual general meeting (AGM) held both in Zaandam, The Netherlands and virtually. Fleeman was also appointed a director of Ahold Delhaize’s management board.
Fleeman has been with Ahold Delhaize for 30 years, beginning with Delhaize America, and has spent most of his career at Food Lion. Two years after Delhaize and Ahold merged in 2016, Fleeman was named president of Peapod Digital Labs and the chief commercial and digital officer of Ahold Delhaize USA. He will continue to be based in Salisbury, NC.
“Today, I’m humbled by the opportunity to take on a new role as CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA. I started my career more than 30 years ago in grocery retail, and I have a great passion for this business, helping customers access affordable, healthy and sustainable food,” the 49 year old chief executive noted. “I look forward to collaborating with many others across the companies of Ahold Delhaize USA – and leveraging our scale as a global retailer – as we create great places to work for our teams, deliver innovation in food, technology and the customer experience at each local brand, and drive a culture of belonging for everyone.”
Frans Muller, Ahold Delhaize’s chief executive, addressed the 136 shareholders in attendance and those who watched the meeting virtually. He remained cautiously optimistic about Ahold Delhaize’s near-term results: “When I look back at 2022, I conclude that our efforts resulted in solid results, mainly due to our performance in the U.S. market. Our financial stability is important, because only a healthy company can continue to invest in innovation, sustainability, digitalization and stores.
“Our ‘Leading Together’ strategy drives everything we do, and as part of that we want to make healthy and sustainable products accessible to everyone. To get there, we will collaborate with our partners to contribute to creating a more sustainable supply chain.
“And of course all of this starts with our associates. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the local teams, at the brands, in the distribution centers and at the offices – who provide the dedication, energy and drive that our customers keep coming back for.”
Much of the nearly five hour meeting was devoted to voting on the retailer’s 19 proposals (all were approved) and to answering shareholders’ questions.
Additionally, the AGM approved the reappointment of Frans Muller as a member of the management board, and of Peter Agnefjäll, Bill McEwan and Katie Doyle as members of the supervisory board. Muller will also continue to serve as president and CEO of Ahold Delhaize and Peter Agnefjäll will continue as chair of the supervisory board.
In addition to Fleeman joining the management board, shareholders also approved the appointment Julia Vander Ploeg as a new member of the supervisory board.