Jumbo has once again hired a former Lidl manager

Jumbo Supermarkets has appointed Erwin Meijer as interim commercial director. Like CEO Jesper Højer and sales director Boudewijn van den Brand, he previously worked at Lidl.

25 years of experience

As interim Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Erwin Meijer is part of the executive team and is responsible for leading the commercial organization, including Purchasing and Category Management. CEO Jesper Højer had been fulfilling this role on an interim basis since February.

Erwin Meijer’s appointment aligns with Jumbo’s recently streamlined executive structure, in which commercial functions are consolidated under a single executive role with ultimate responsibility. With this step, Jumbo is making further progress in the development of its revamped commercial organization, the company states in a press release.

Erwin Meijer has over 25 years of experience in national and international food retail. Between 1996 and 2006, he served as commercial director of Lidl in the Netherlands and also worked for the discounter in Portugal and at its international headquarters. Later, he held external consulting roles for companies including Ontex, Tom&Co, and McKinsey. Recently, he has already been involved with Jumbo as a consultant.

It is noteworthy that this means three positions on Jumbo’s executive board are currently filled by former top managers from Lidl, as CEO Jesper Højer and Director of Sales and Supply Chain Boudewijn van den Brand also have backgrounds at the German discounter: both previously served as directors in Belgium, among other roles. Peter Isaac, who until recently served as Director of Belgium at Jumbo, also came over from Lidl, but has stepped down from his position at the Dutch supermarket chain.