JJ Fleeman takes over as Ahold Delhaize USA CEO

Ahold Delhaize USA has a new CEO at the helm.

JJ Fleeman has succeeded Kevin Holt as the U.S. CEO of Ahold Delhaize, the Zaandam, Netherlands-based global food retailer said Wednesday at its Annual General Meeting. Fleeman’s appointment to the management board of Ahold Delhaize also received shareholder approval. Holt will remain with Ahold Delhaize USA (ADUSA) in an advisory capacity until he retires at the end of 2023.

Ahold Delhaize had announced Fleeman's succession to ADUSA CEO back in November. The company said it would nominate Fleeman as a member of the Ahold Delhaize Management Board and CEO of ADUSA at its April 12 annual shareholders meeting. Holt's term on the global company's management board expired as of the meeting.

As head of Quincy, Massachusetts-based ADUSA, Fleeman oversees the third-largest U.S. conventional supermarket retailer. Its businesses include the chains Stop & Shop, Giant Food, Giant/Martin’s, Food Lion and Hannaford, totaling 2,051 stores along the East Coast, plus online grocer FreshDirect; the Peapod Digital Labs e-commerce and digital innovation unit; the Retail Business Services (RBS) services arm; and Ahold Delhaize USA Supply Chain, the distribution and logistics division.

“Today, I’m humbled by the opportunity to take on a new role as CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA," Fleeman said in a statement. “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. 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."

Fleeman has been with Ahold Delhaize companies for 30 years, and since May 2018, he had served as the president of Peapod Digital Labs and as the chief commercial and digital officer of ADUSA.

A 30-year retail industry veteran, Holt had served as Ahold Delhaize USA CEO, and a member of the Ahold Delhaize Management Board, since January 2018. Before that, he held the post of chief operating officer of Ahold USA since October 2016, after serving in the same role at Delhaize America since July 2016. Earlier, he was executive vice president of Delhaize Group and CEO of Delhaize America, starting in 2014.

On Wednesday, Ahold Delhaize's supervisory board also approved the reappointments of Frans Muller as a member of the management board and Peter Agnefjäll, Bill McEwan and Katie Doyle as members of the supervisory board. Muller will continue to serve as president and CEO of Ahold Delhaize, and Peter Agnefjäll will continue as chair of the supervisory board.

“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,” Muller reported at the shareholder meeting.

As of its 2022 fiscal year end, Ahold Delhaize had a total of 7,659 stores in the U.S., the Netherlands, Belgium and Central and Southeastern Europe, with 5,608 locations in Europe.