The CEO of Aldi Süd in the UK and Ireland, Matthew Barnes, has been appointed to the discounter’s Koordinierungsrat, or Coordination Council, the top executive committee at the retailer.
Barnes will occupy just one of four positions on the Council, and will take the seat formerly occupied by Robert Ochsenschläger, who has retired.
Responsibilities
As part of the Council, Barnes will take responsibility for Aldi’s operations in the US, as well as maintaining an overseeing role in the UK and Ireland operations, according to The Grocer magazine.
He will also join the board of Hofer KG in Salzburg, Aldi Süd’s operations in the country.
Barnes is set to take up his new position on 15 April.
Change At UK Operation
According to The Grocer, the current group MD in the UK and Ireland, Giles Hurley, will be promoted to chief executive.
Barnes told the trade title that he is “tremendously excited at this fantastically exciting opportunity to broaden my horizons”, adding that the appointment is unlikely to have much of an impact on the business’ UK and Ireland business.
“We’ve just closed off a fantastic January,” he told The Grocer. “Growth is accelerating. And the great news is, while Giles takes over the day-to-day running of the UK and Ireland operation, I’m still overseeing the UK and my family home will still be here.
"The difference is just that I will personally be doing a lot more travelling and have wider responsibility."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
