Netherlands-based retail group Ahold has underlined its commitment to cost-cutting and streamlining within its international business, following the appointment of Jeff Carr as executive vice-president and chief financial officer, effective 12 November 2011.
Carr succeeds Kimberly Ross, who is leaving Ahold in November to become CFO of cosmetics group Avon, and will be a member of Ahold's corporate executive board pending shareholder approval.
He will be responsible for Ahold's finance, real estate and IT functions, managing the company's existing €350m cost reduction programme and exploring further ways to reduce costs and simplify the business.
'We are delighted to have an experienced finance professional of Jeff's caliber joining our board,' said Dick Boer, CEO of Ahold. 'He has an impressive track record and broad experience in the consumer goods and services industry on both of the continents where Ahold operates.
'Jeff has been CFO of listed companies since 2005, and has worked and lived in Europe and the United States. His background and expertise in finance will help us to pursue our growth strategy.'
Carr, a British national, is currently group finance director and a member of the board at UK-based FirstGroup, the leading transport operator in the UK and North America, where it operates the famous Greyhound bus line.
Before joining FirstGroup, he was group finance director and board member at easyJet and held senior financial roles at Associated British Foods, Reckitt Benckiser and Grand Metropolitan, having originally begun his career at Unilever.
The Ahold supervisory board is set to nominate Carr for appointment to its corporate executive board at next April's annual general meeting of shareholders on 17 April 2012.
Until then, he will be an acting member of the corporate executive board.
