Ahold Names Former Ikea Chief as New Chairman, CEO

AMSTERDAM - Troubled supermarket and food service company Royal Ahold NV ended its two-month search for a new chairman and chief executive Friday, naming a former Ikea International CEO to the job.

Ahold, which has been struggling with accounting irregularities, also said its accountant has resumed auditing the results of two units -- a condition for it to be able to use part of a 3.1 billion euro ($3.48 billion) credit facility. Audits of other parts of the company, however, haven't been resumed.

Ahold said Anders Moberg, a chief executive of the big Swedish furniture retailer Ikea from 1986 to 1999, will take over the helm at Ahold on Monday. Moberg is also the former head of U.S. home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc.'s international division.

Moberg replaces supervising chairman Heny de Ruiter, who is also chairman of the company's supervisory board. De Ruiter temporarily took the helm after Cees van der Hoeven, Ahold's long-time CEO, stepped down in February after revealing that accounting irregularities at a U.S. unit led to earnings being inflated by around 500 million euros.

In a statement, Moberg said that he's "convinced that we can get Ahold on the right track again."
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