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Q&A with CEO and Supervisory Board Chairman continued
What does the name of your
strategy, “Better Together,”
mean to you?
How do you feel when you
look back on 2016, the year
marked by preparations for
and completion of the merger?
What convinced you the
merger was the right move
at the right time?
Can you give an update
on the progress since merger
completion in July 2016?
2017 will be Ahold Delhaize’s
first full year. What will your
main point of focus be?
Overview
Business review
Governance
Financials
Investors
Ahold Delhaize Annual Report 2016
DB I feel proud, as well. Many associates
worked very hard together to make the merger
happen, and you could feel the excitement
in the events we organized to mark Day 1
of the new company. At a meeting of 350
leaders in October, people commented that
there was already a real “Ahold Delhaize”
spirit. And as Mats said, it was impressive
how everyone kept their eyes on the ball, for
the customer. We never, not for one second,
lost sight of what our businesses are about.
MJ I agree - there was an instant culture
“click.” We just felt that we should do this -
that the merger made sense. Our companies
complemented each other perfectly,
with minimal overlap and a large synergy
potential, but I believe the cultural fit is even
more important. From the first meeting, we
knew we had this. As we say today, we are
Better Together. I think that is a fantastic
payoff. And that was the mindset from the
very beginning.
capturing the benefits of our scale. As soon
as we started our talks it was clear that the
cultural fit between our leadership teams was
extraordinary. We shared the same values and
the same focus on the customer.
We also agreed that our foundation is made
of great local brands that must remain local
to best serve customers and communities.
The merger makes us one of the largest food
retailers in the world - and that is important
because scale matters in this business.
DB We’ll be focused on the transformation,
working towards our synergy target and
continuing our companies’ process of
learning to work together. And at the same
time, we will continue doing what matters to
our customers and building stronger brands
for our future.
DB It applies to so many aspects of who we
are and what we want to be. We are better
together because we learn from each other,
because we bring together so many great
local brands in one family and because we’re
working together to become better every day.
MJ I’m proud of what teams across our
businesses accomplished in the period
before the closing. Thanks to their careful
preparations, Ahold Delhaize got off to
a great start. And at the same time, it was
business as usual: they were able to keep up
the good work on our customer offerings.
It was very satisfying to see the companies
really come together as one.
DB It was a unique opportunity to combine
two companies with a similar heritage
and values, a strong financial position and
complementary geographies - it will help
us further build our great local brands while
MJ It is also reflected in the functioning of the
Management Board, Executive Committee
and Supervisory Board. I believe our two-tier
structure - with the Executive Committee also
representing the business - strengthens the
quality of our decision-making and how we
can implement our strategy.
MJ Once it was final, the teams could really
kick off and start working together. And they
got off to a great start - I want to compliment
them on their dedication and cooperation.
I am seeing good progress on culture, and the
integration is on track, with a clear roadmap
for synergy delivery as presented by Dick and
his team to investors in December.
DB Indeed. Our “Better Together” strategy
will guide us, while our great local brands
continue to build further on their excellent
positions. And we have a clear financial
framework, with a balanced approach
between funding growth, managing our debt
portfolio and returning cash to shareholders.
All our progress is thanks to the hard work
of our associates and the support we got
from investors, who approved our merger
with overwhelming support. It shows their
confidence in our future together.
MJ The Supervisory Board will be
focused on overseeing execution.
Challenging and supporting the Executive
Committee. Making sure they are able
to deliver the synergies and strengthen our
brand propositions to ensure sustainable
growth for the future.
