Raf van den Heuvel new general manager Albert Heijn Belgium

Raf van den Heuvel has been appointed as the new general manager of Albert Heijn Belgium. On 1 August the current commercial director will take over the position of Luc de Baets, who is set to leave the company.

Back to the Netherlands

De Baets has been general manager of the chain’s Belgian branch since 2014, but he will return to the Netherlands this summer. In total, he has been a member of Albert Heijn’s board of directors for sixteen years. “Led by Luc since 2014, Albert Heijn has grown to be a popular supermarket among Belgians. We thank him for building Albert Heijn Belgium’s strong foundation”, CEO Marit van Egmond said in a press release.

Van den Heuvel, originally from Antwerp, has been connected to AH Belgium since its start in 2010. He has to guide the chain through the next phase of its growth: currently there are 43 Albert Heijn stores in Belgium, but the chain hopes to double that in the coming years. CEO Van Egmond thinks Van den Heuvel is ideally equipped to achieve that: “We are entering the next phase of growth and are confident that Raf is the right person to lead Albert Heijn Belgium forward; he has been involved from the start of the brand in Belgium and knows its customers, franchisers and associates like no other.”