X5 Retail Group announces top management changes

Russian retailer X5 Retail Group has nominated acting CEO Stephan DuCharme to the post on a permanent basis. DuCharme has stepped down from his post of Supervisory Board Member to take on the role.

Kieran Balfe has resigned as X5’s Chief Financial Officer. The new CFO will be the company’s present Deputy Commercial Director, Sergey Piven, with the appointment effective March 2013.

In the last couple of months X5 has seen the departure of two experienced managers with backgrounds of working for Schwarz Group. Frank Mros had served as Managing Director of Lidl in Germany and Managing Director of Lidl Poland. He became General Director of Pyaterochka in June 2012, but has now decided to leave X5.

Another recent departure is Jan Fuchs, who was Deputy Chairman and COO of the Kaufland hypermarkets chain in the Czech Republic from 1998-2007. Fuchs worked as X5’s General Director of Karusel hypermarkets from November 2011 until August 2012.

Both senior executives were expected to turn around the negative revenue development in X5’s key formats, Pyaterochka discount stores and Karusel hypermarkets.

Planet Retail