When Anders Moberg joined Royal Ahold four years back, he was brought in to stabilize a company that was going through the fallout from a nearly billion dollar accounting scandal at U.S. Foodservice and, at the same time, struggling in its grocery operations against stronger competition.
While Mr. Moberg was able to bring some calm to the situation early in his tenure, he was never able to truly right the ship. He has sold off some international assets to reduce debt and has put U.S. Foodservice and Tops Markets up for sale. Still, the company's U.S. retail business continues to struggle and calls have been made by Centaurus Capital and others for Ahold to sell off chains and maximize shareholder value.
Last week Mr. Moberg unexpectedly resigned from the company after he and the board apparently came to the conclusion that the soon to be former CEO had taken Ahold as far as he could. Mr. Moberg is to officially step down on July 1.
René Dahan, chairman of Ahold's Supervisory Board, said in a press release, "Anders has made a great contribution to restoring the health of Ahold. With this achieved, and the strategy for Ahold's future profitable growth in place, now is a good time for new leadership to be appointed to take the company through its next set of challenges and opportunities."
For the short-term, at least, John Rishton, Ahold's chief financial officer, will attempt to put the company back on the growth track. Mr. Rishton will take over as acting president and CEO of Ahold on July 1. He will also continue in his role as CFO. A final decision on a permanent leader for the company is expected by the end of the year.
Discussion Questions: Can Ahold get its U.S. businesses turned around? What will it take to do so?