ZAANDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia announces that Jesper Lauridsen, current Brand President of Albert and COO of the Central and Southeastern Europe (CSE) region, will transition full-time into his role as COO of CSE. At the same time, the company appoints Petr Pavlik in the role of Brand President of local Czech brand Albert as of April 1.

Strong position in the Czech Republic

As Brand President of Albert, Petr Pavlik will continue Albert’s successful journey and further strengthen its strong position in the Czech Republic. Petr brings a wealth of experience from executive positions in both bricks-and-mortar and online retail. Between 2016 and 2020, he served as SVP at Albert, managing commercial, marketing and format areas. He has also held roles at several FMCG companies. In the Czech Republic, Petr led a major spirits producer, and was chair of the Union of Spirits producers and importers. Petr will start on April 1.

Strengthening the CSE region

Jesper Lauridsen will now transition fully into his role as COO of the CSE region, reporting into Claude Sarrailh, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia. With the CSE Brand Presidents reporting into Jesper, he will continue to work closely with the local leadership teams, and focus on strengthening the CSE region through enhancing the strategic framework and operating model within the CSE brands. At the same time, Jesper will ensure that the CSE brands are fully participating and benefiting from Ahold Delhaize’s European scale and capabilities, in order to make the most of the synergies. He will also continue to oversee the integration of Ahold Delhaize’s newest great local brand, Profi, in Romania and continue to be a part of the Europe & Indonesia leadership team.

“I would like to thank Jesper and wish him all the best in focusing on his COO role. His strong retail strategies, transformational and empathetic leadership, and commitment to people engagement will remain inspiring. Next to that, I firmly believe that Petr's retail acumen and passion for Albert’s mission of providing healthy inspiration will bring strong leadership to Albert’s team in the Czech Republic,” said Claude Sarrailh, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia.