B&M appoints industry veteran Tjeerd Jegen as CEO

B&M has named international retail veteran Tjeerd Jegen as its new CEO.

Jegen has worked in leadership roles at Ahold Delhaize, Metro, Tesco, Woolworths, Hema and Takko Fashion over 25 years.

He will take over from Mike Schmidt, currently B&M interim CEO, on 16 June.

“I am delighted to welcome Tjeerd to B&M,” said B&M chair Tiffany Hall.

“He is a highly talented international business leader with in-depth retail experience gained in Europe, Asia and Australasia across the grocery, general merchandise and value sectors.

“In what was a rigorous recruitment process, Tjeerd stood out from a strong list of candidates due to his strategic insight, customer-centric approach, and strong track record of driving growth and transformation.”

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Jegen said: “I’m honoured to join one of Europe’s leading value retailers at such a pivotal time. Value retail plays a crucial role in the lives of millions of consumers, and I’m passionate about working with the team to drive growth through great products, operational excellence, and a strong customer focus.

“I look forward to working with the team to build on the company’s strong foundations and take it to the next level.”

Schmidt was announced as interim chief last month, following the departure of Alex Russo as CEO in February.

Russo’s retirement from the role was announced at the same time as B&M announced its second profit warning since the start of the year, downgrading guidance on adjusted EBITDA from £620m-£650m to £605m-£625m.

B&M UK like-for-like sales were down 3.1% in the 52 weeks to 29 March.