After a nine-month search, global food retailer Ahold Delhaize has appointed Natalia Wallenberg as Head of Human Resources.
Ahold Delhaize said Thursday that Wallenberg is coming to Ahold Delhaize of international agricultural technology company Syngenta Group, where she served as global head of human resources for her crop protection company, Zaandam, based in the Netherlands. She took over from former head of human resources Abby Luersman, who left the company on April 30 to return to the United States after 13 years in Europe.
“I am delighted to join Ahold Delhaize with its focus on health, sustainability, inclusivity and value for customers,” Wallenberg said in a statement. “It is exciting to be part of a company with a growth-oriented culture and local brands that positively impact more than 50 million shoppers each week. Additionally, the organization’s values - especially caring, courage and teamwork – are values that I share and are proud to promote. I look forward to to help [CEO] French [Muller] The company continues its transformation while cultivating its diversified great talent and purposeful culture.”
Walenberg (left), an accomplished HR executive, has spent nearly nine years at Syngenta, a global agricultural technology company with more than 49,000 employees in 90 geographic markets and $23 billion in annual revenue. Prior to her last position as Head of Global Human Resources for the Crop Protection Division in Basel, Switzerland, she was the Global Head of Human Resources for the Syngenta Seed Division, based in Minneapolis and Chicago, for three years. Wallenberg joined Syngenta in September 2013 from Renaissance Capital in Moscow, where she was Head of Human Resources at the Global Front Office. Prior to that, she held the position of Head of the Human Resources Team for Ikea Real Estate in Moscow for more than two years.
“I am delighted to have Natalia join my Executive Committee as Head of Global Human Resources,” said Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold Delhaize. She has a broad international perspective, having lived and worked in both Europe and the United States, and has extensive experience in shaping and implementing effective business and human resource strategies, leadership and culture development, organizational transformation and talent management.
Ahold Delhaize announced in January that Luersmann intends to leave the company. I have held the position of Human Resources Manager for nearly five years and have Same role in Royal Ahold from November 2013 Until July 2016, which led to the company’s merger with Delhaize Group.
In all, Ahold Delhaize has approximately 410,000 employees and 7,263 stores in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Central and Southeast Europe. Operations include Ahold Delhaize USA 2,044 stores under the Stop & Shop, Giant Food, Giant/Martin’s, Food Lion and Hannaford banners, as well as e-commerce company FreshDirect and e-commerce provider Peapod Digital Labs.
