ZAANDAM, The Netherlands, Oct. 14, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Ahold (NYSE:AHO)(Other OTC:AHODF) Corporate Executive Board has appointed Lawrence S. Benjamin as Chief Executive Officer at U.S. Foodservice, effective November 1, 2003. Interim CEO Robert Tobin will work with Benjamin during the transition, ensuring continuity in the operations and governance of the company until Benjamin outlines his strategic plan for the company and addresses any changes in other senior leadership positions at the company.
Benjamin joins U.S. Foodservice from the NutraSweet Company in Chicago, Illinois, where he currently serves as Chief Executive Officer. He has held various executive positions in the food industry, including consecutively serving as President & CEO at Stella Foods (1994 -- 1997) and Specialty Foods Corporation (1997 -- 2001), both holdings of Oak Hill Capital Management. Prior to working with Oak Hill, he held several executive positions at different divisions of Kraft Foods.
An advisory board will be installed at U.S. Foodservice to oversee the required changes in controls systems and to ensure the implementation of solid corporate governance principles throughout the entire company. This advisory board -- comprised of Ahold President & CEO Anders Moberg, Ahold CFO Hannu Ryopponen, Chief Corporate Governance Counsel Peter Wakkie, Corporate Executive Board member William Grize and Supervisory Board member Robert Tobin -- will work closely with the Ahold Corporate Executive Board. Additionally, two external members with extensive industry and business experience will be identified in due course.
Commenting on the appointment, Anders Moberg said: "We are extremely pleased that Larry has decided to join the company. He has an excellent reputation for turning around and rebuilding companies in crisis and has successfully directed important recovery processes. Recently the focus of U.S. Foodservice has necessarily been on cleaning up the business. Larry's leadership and background perfectly complement our strategy for U.S. Foodservice. With the active support of the advisory board, Larry will play a key role in rebuilding and maximizing the value of the company."
Certain statements in this presentation are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Ahold intends that these statements be covered by the safe harbors created under these laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the information set forth in these forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are beyond Ahold's ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which only speak as of the date of this presentation. Ahold does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.