Dive Brief:
- Grocery giant Ahold Delhaize appointed Jan Brecht as CTO and member of its executive committee, effective Sept. 26, the company said Thursday. Brecht will replace departing CTO Ben Wishart, who first joined the company in 2013.
- Brecht comes to the company after an extensive career in the auto industry, most recently serving as chief digital information officer at Nissan. Previously, Brecht served as CIO of the Mercedes-Benz and as CIO and head of global supply chain at Adidas.
- At Ahold Delhaize, Brecht will lead the company's technology function, overseeing enterprise tech strategy, digital innovation and cybersecurity, according to the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Ahold Delhaize's CTO appointment comes amid a broader tech adoption push at the food retailer, the parent company of Giant, Stop & Shop and other grocers.
"Identifying innovation solutions and leveraging the power of AI and data are both critical components that enable us to innovate for growth and efficiency," said CEO Frans Muller, during an earnings call in May. "We have made good progress on this front during the quarter, with several initiatives we believe can scale over time."
In February, Ann Dozier joined Ahold Delhaize's U.S. division as its CIO. Previously the chief information and technology officer at Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, Dozier was brought in to lead IT operations with a focus on omnichannel for Ahold Delhaize's U.S. grocery brands.
Ahold Delhaize has also been braving the effects of a November 2024 cybersecurity breach that disrupted e-commerce systems for several days and exposed the data of more than 2 million current and former employees.
Other food retailers have also been sharpening technology strategies to support productivity and cost-consciousness.
U.S.-based grocery chain Giant Eagle announced in June it rolled out a cloud-based warehouse management system to optimize operations. To support its membership growth plans, Walmart-owned Sam's Club is working to improve digital shopping for customers, including the migration of its app to the same platform Walmart uses.
In the aftermath of a failed merger with rival grocery chain Kroger, Albertsons said it is working to bolster its data science capabilities amid a productivity and AI adoption push.
Technology improvements, including a real-time comprehensive data platform, are part of a three-year cost-cutting initiative announced in January, CEO Susan Morris said in an April earnings call.
