Ahold Delhaize names new chief, executive committee member
Ahold Delhaize names new chief, executive committee member
Ahold Delhaize appointed Jan Brecht as chief technology officer and member of the executive committee, effective Sept. 26. He will succeed Ben Wishart, who has decided to step down as a member of the executive committee and leave the company after 12 years in the CTO role at Ahold Delhaize.
Brecht brings a wealth of experience in digital transformation and enterprise technology leadership. He most recently served as chief digital information officer at Nissan Motor. Prior to that, he was chief information officer at Mercedes-Benz Group, where he led the company’s IT strategy during a period of significant innovation and digitalization. Earlier in his career, he was CIO and head of global supply chain at Adidas Group. Brecht holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and has lived and worked across Europe, the U.S. and Japan.
Wishart joined Ahold in 2013 as CTO and became a member of the Ahold Delhaize executive committee in 2018. Over his tenure, he has been instrumental in shaping the company’s technology strategy, overseeing the development of core retail and digital platforms, as well as scaling group-wide sourcing and solution delivery.
"Ben has been a driving force behind our digital transformation and a trusted leader in our executive committee," said Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold Delhaize. "We are grateful for the many contributions Ben has made as CTO and as a leader across the company. We are thrilled to welcome Jan, whose international experience and visionary leadership, coupled with deep tech expertise and passion for consumers and data, will be invaluable as we continue to evolve our technology landscape to better serve our customers and brands. His experience positions him well to support our Growing Together strategy’s direction of advancing cost efficiency, simplicity, resilience, and IT security.”
As CTO, Jan will lead Ahold Delhaize’s technology function, overseeing enterprise tech strategy, digital innovation, cybersecurity and enabling its local brands to leverage Ahold Delhaize’s scale to accelerate the development of scalable, customer-centric platforms.
"I’m honored to join Ahold Delhaize at such a pivotal time, with the growing together strategy having made a solid start since its launch last year," said Brecht. "The company’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, modernization and customer experience aligns perfectly with my own experience and values. I look forward to working with talented teams across the company to build the next generation of digital and AI/data capabilities that will power the future of retail."
