Zaandam, the Netherlands – Ahold today announced the nomination of René Hooft Graafland for appointment to Ahold’s Supervisory Board, with effect from January 1, 2015.
Ahold also announced the appointment of Judith Sprieser as Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board. Pending the approval of Mr. Hooft Graafland’s appointment, Ahold’s Supervisory Board will once again be made up of eight members: Jan Hommen (Chair), Judith Sprieser (Vice Chair), Stephanie Shern, Rob van den Bergh, Derk Doijer, Mark McGrath, Ben Noteboom and René Hooft Graafland.
The Supervisory Board will propose to the General Meeting of Shareholders on April 16, 2014, to appoint Mr. Hooft Graafland in the role of member of Ahold’s Supervisory Board starting January 1, 2015. Mr. Hooft Graafland currently holds the position of Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board of Heineken N.V. Prior to that, he held various international management positions with Heineken in Europe, Asia and Africa. He is a member of the supervisory board of Wolters Kluwer N.V. and chairman of the supervisory board of Royal Theatre Carré.
The Supervisory Board will also propose to appoint Judith Sprieser for a new four-year term. First appointed as a member of Ahold’s Supervisory Board in 2006, Mrs. Sprieser has been appointed to the position of Vice Chair with effect from February 25, 2014. Mrs. Sprieser is former CEO of Transora, Inc, which she founded in 2000. Prior to that, she was executive vice president and CFO of Sara Lee Corporation. She is a director of Allstate Corporation, Reckitt Benckiser plc, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and Experian Plc.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Jan Hommen said: “The Board is excited to propose René Hooft Graafland for appointment to Ahold's Supervisory Board. He brings extensive international, financial and commercial experience in a sector relevant to Ahold. Judith Sprieser has been an outstanding Board member and has made strong contributions to Ahold’s Supervisory Board."
Cautionary notice
This press release includes forward-looking statements, which do not refer to historical facts but refer to expectations based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those included in such statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Ahold's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as discussed in Ahold's public filings and other disclosures. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Koninklijke Ahold N.V. does not assume any obligation to update any public information or forward-looking statements in this release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. Outside the Netherlands, Koninklijke Ahold N.V., being its registered name, presents itself under the name of "Royal Ahold" or simply "Ahold".
