Dutch-Belgian food retail group Ahold Delhaize has announced the appointment of Jan Brecht as chief technology officer (CTO) and member of the executive committee.

He will succeed Ben Wishart in September, who has decided to step down as a member of the executive committee and leave the company after 12 years in the role of CTO.

Brecht joins the company from Nissan Motor, where he served as chief digital information officer.

Prior to this, he worked as chief information officer (CIO) at Mercedes-Benz Group, where he led the company’s IT strategy during a period of significant innovation and digitalisation.

Earlier in his career, Brecht was CIO and head of global supply chain at Adidas Group.

In his new role, Brecht will lead Ahold Delhaize’s technology functions, overseeing enterprise tech strategy, digital innovation and cybersecurity.

He will also work with local brands, allowing them to leverage Ahold Delhaize’s scale to accelerate the development of scalable, customer-centric platforms.

“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,” said Frans Muller, chief executive of Ahold Delhaize. “His experience positions him well to support our Growing Together strategy’s direction of advancing cost efficiency, simplicity, resilience, and IT security.”

---