By George Anderson
Jim Miller has stepped down from the top position at the U.S. Foodservice division of Ahold. The Supervisory Board of Dutch supermarket giant Royal Ahold NV said this morning that they had accepted his resignation.
Mr. Miller, founder and chief executive, U.S. Foodservice has been taking heat over the accounting scandal that forced the company to restate $880 million in earnings. An internal company investigation found two executives in purchasing and marketing inflated supplier rebate revenues over a three-year period, and the company has implied that others may have been involved.
Robert G. Tobin will serve as interim chief executive officer, while the company seeks out a replacement for Mr. Miller. Mr. Tobin is a member of the Ahold Supervisory Board since 2001. He is the former Chairman and CEO of Stop & Shop, which he joined in 1960. In 1998 he was appointed President and CEO of Ahold USA as well as to the Ahold Corporate Executive Board from which he retired in 2001. Mr. Miller, whol has agreed to work with Mr. Tobin to ease the transition, has served as president and ceo of U.S. Foodservice since 1997, and was appointed to the Ahold Corporate Executive Board in 2001.
Moderator's Comment: What will Jim Miller leaving U.S. Foodservice mean for the company?
We've heard it said more than once by people within the food industry that Jim Miller is U.S. Foodservice. That's why you had people questioning whether it really makes sense for Ahold to ask for his resignation.
A source told the Washington Post, "When you have a discrepancy of $880 million, I don't see any way to avoid the accusation of poor management. The easy answer is of course . . . to fire him. It's not clear that is the best answer for the company."
We would argue, with deep regret having to do so, the perception U.S. Foodservice could not prosper without Mr. Miller is an even greater indictment of his poor management skills. Mr. Miller is a great salesman, no question. He has not been the leader U.S. Foodservice needed.