ZAANDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - In September, Ahold’s current CFO, Jeff Carr, announced that he would no longer be with the company once his term ended in April 2020. As the retailer scouted for new talent to take his place, they tapped Natalie Knight, a retail veteran with nearly two decades of experience in the sector. Knight has been appointed to Executive Vice President of Finance and member of the Executive Committee, effective March 1, 2020. She will be nominated by the Supervisory Board to be appointed as Chief Financial Officer, officially succeeding Carr in April of the same year.
“I am excited to join Ahold Delhaize,” stated Knight. “With its Leading Together strategy and its brand-led model, I believe the company is well positioned to thrive in this new era of digital transformation in the food retail industry. I look forward to working with Jeff to ensure a smooth transition and support the company as it continues to win in its local markets.”
Knight most recently worked with Arla Foods, where she served as Chief Financial Officer and oversaw the company’s finance, legal, and IT functions. Prior to joining Arla Foods, Natalie worked 17 years at adidas, serving in several financial roles including Investor Relations and M&A, where she led the acquisition of Reebok for adidas. She then served as CFO of adidas North America, where she led major cross-functional cost reductions and operational transformation efforts. Her final role with adidas was as SVP of Group Functions Finance, leading a finance team in strategic and financial support for the Group’s Global Operations, Procurement, Finance, Real Estate, Legal, HR, IT, and Executive functions.
The press release noted that Knight holds a Master of Economics from the University of Berlin, Germany, and a Bachelor of Business and German from the University of Arizona.
“I’m thrilled to have Natalie join Ahold Delhaize. She has worked in both the U.S. and Europe, across a variety of industries, including branded consumer goods and food products,” said Frans Muller, President and CEO. “With her broad experience across several finance areas, her commercial mindset, and her demonstrated leadership in cost reduction and business transformation efforts, she is the right leader to help accelerate Ahold Delhaize’s Leading Together strategy. I look forward to working with her.”
Jan Hommen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board added, “I would like to welcome Natalie to Ahold Delhaize and look forward to nominating her to the Management Board. I would also like to thank Jeff Carr for his distinguished service to Ahold Delhaize during the past eight years. During his tenure, he brought focus to both cost control and cash generation as well as financial leadership to both the acquisition of bol.com and the merger of Ahold and Delhaize. I wish him well in his future endeavors.”
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