Ahold Delhaize Creates New Parent Company for U.S. Businesses

On Jan. 1, 2018, Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize will unveil Ahold Delhaize USA as the new parent company for all of the retail conglomerate’s U.S. companies, including Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford, Giant/Martin’s and Peapod, as well as Retail Business Services (RBS), a U.S. shared services company providing support to the brands.

The newly appointed CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA is Kevin Holt, currently COO of Ahold USA and based in Quincy, Mass. In his new role, Holt will remain a member of Ahold Delhaize’s management board and executive committee, and will continue to report to Ahold Delhaize CEO Dick Boer. Meanwhile, Frans Muller, deputy CEO of Ahold Delhaize and chief integration officer, as well as acting COO of Delhaize America, will focus the continued smooth integration of Ahold Delhaize.

“Combining the parent companies of the U.S. brands and RBS is the natural next step in our brand-centric strategy in the U.S.,” noted Boer. “Kevin is an outstanding leader with extensive food retail experience and a great choice to guide our U.S. businesses through this time of continuing change and evolving customer expectations.”

“I’m excited that we are moving into this next phase where we can focus on further strengthening our brands and winning in our markets,” said Holt, who joined pre-merger Delhaize Group as CEO of Delhaize America and moved to Ahold USA earlier this year. “Ahold Delhaize USA and its U.S. brands are well positioned to continue to drive growth and innovation and meet the evolving needs of customers, both in stores and online.”

Holt previously held executive leadership roles at Supervalu and Meijer.