John Rishton, Royal Ahold chief financial officer (CFO), who has made a huge impact on the multinational supermarket company since he joined in 2006, has been officially named president and CEO.

Rishton, a former British Airway CFO, was part of a three-person team that performed a major review of Ahold's retail businesses, making recommendations which were used in a new strategic direction unveiled a year ago.

Kimberly Ross, deputy CFO, has been promoted to fill the role of Ahold CFO and selected for the company's corporate executive board.

She is credited with helping implement measures to secure Ahold's financial stability after its 2003 accounting scandal.

Further reading:

Ex-Ahold exec gets seven years for role in fraud