Joel Saveuse is the frontrunner to succeed Eckhard Cordes as the chief executive officer of German retail giant Metro AG, according to a report by Reuters.
The news agency said that sources close to the group had Saveuse, who is already on the group's management board and is involved with both Real and Metro's cash and carry operation, leading the race ahead of finance chief Olaf Koch and Carrefour manager Thomas Huebner.
According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Metro's supervisory board is set to discuss the matter formally in mid-November when chairman Franz Markus Haniel joins the board.
Cordes revealed in October that he would not be looking to extend his contract as chief executive officer once it had expired on 31 October 2012.
