Düsseldorf, Germany, 2015-5-6 — /EPR Retail News/ — Following the successful first phase of METRO Cash & Carry’s repositioning, the international wholesale group is now getting a new CEO: Olaf Koch, currently CEO of METRO Cash & Carry as well as Chairman of the Management Board ofMETRO AG, will focus solely on his role as head of the whole group in the future. Following Koch’s recommendation, the Supervisory Board of METRO AG has now appointed the current Managing Director of METRO Cash & Carry Russia,Pieter Boone, as his successor. Dutch-born Pieter Boone will also join the Management Board of METRO AG, becoming the fifth member alongside Olaf Koch (CEO), Mark Frese (CFO), Pieter Haas (Media-Saturn) and Heiko Hutmacher(Human Resources). Boone will start in his new position as Member of the Management Board of METRO AG on July 1st and will lead METRO Cash & Carry together with Olaf Koch as Co-CEO until the end of the business year. New Managing Director of METRO Cash & Carry Russia will be the current Offer Management Director, Boris Minialai.
“Over the last two years we have introduced numerous measures to get METRO Cash & Carry ready for future growth”, said Olaf Koch. “Now, after seven quarters of successive like-for-like growth, we are seeing the fruits of our labours. It is therefore the right moment to hand over responsibility for METRO Cash & Carry to someone who can dedicate themselves entirely to our crucial wholesale business, and who also brings valuable experience at the company.” Around two years ago Olaf Koch took on the position as CEO of the wholesale subsidiary METRO Cash & Carry on an interims base alongside his role as CEO of METRO AG. Since then, numerous strategic initiatives and structural changes have been introduced at the leading international wholesaler. For instance, the delivery business has undergone major expansion, the country portfolio has been streamlined by exiting unprofitable markets, and the brand profile has been sharpened.
“Pieter Boone has achieved great things at METRO in recent years, proving that he has a wealth of operating experience and strategic foresight. His work is highly focused on objectives and customers; he cultivates close relationships with both the market and his shareholders; and above all he is someone who lives our leadership principles”, Koch added. “I have taken a great deal of pleasure from my position at METRO Cash & Carry, but a double role can only be performed on an interim basis, and Pieter Boone will now be able to dedicate himself entirely to the task. I know that with him the job is in the best hands. The Management Board and Supervisory Board of METRO AG wish him all the best in his new role.”
Pieter Boone began his management career at SHV MAKRO Cash & Carry in 1992 and has since performed various roles in MAKRO’s Asian and South American business, including Managing Director of MAKRO in Peru, the Philippines and Malaysia or Operations Director in Indonesia and Thailand. In 2011, the Dutch-born manager joined METRO GROUP and was assigned as Operations Director at METRO Cash & Carry Russia, where he took over the role of Managing Director in March 2012.
“I am grateful for the trust and confidence shown in me and thankful for the opportunity given to work as CEO ofMETRO Cash & Carry and Member of the Board of METRO AG,” said Boone. “The position as CEO brings many challenges and a great deal of responsibility. I am looking forward to continue the journey started by Olaf Koch and the colleagues as well as to new challenges. I am excited to work with the excellent team of METRO Cash & Carry and the Operating Board – our business is people business.”
Pieter Boone’s successor as Managing Director of METRO Cash & Carry Russia will be Boris Minialai, currently Offer Management Director at the Russian subsidiary. French-born Boris Minialai has been a member of theMETRO Cash & Carry Management Board since December 2014 and was previously Operations Director for the wholesale business in Turkey and Morocco. Minialai came to METRO from the French retailer Carrefour in 2008. His successor as Offer Management Director at METRO Cash & Carry Russia will be Ewa Jankowiak, who currently is in the position of the Deputy Offer Management Director Food.
The METRO GROUP is a leading international retail and wholesale company. In the 2013/14 business year it generated sales of around EUR 63bn. The company is active at roughly 2,200 locations in 30 countries and has around 250,000 employees. The performance of the METRO GROUP is based on the strength of its sales brands, which carry out their market activities independently: METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry – international leaders in the cash & carry business; Media Markt and Saturn – European market leaders in electrical retail; Real hypermarkets and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.