Hajir Hajji to become Action's new CEO

As of 1 January 2022, Hajir Hajji will be the new CEO of Action. She will succeed Sander van der Laan at the non-food discounter.

Began as shelf-stacker

The career path of the now 41-year old Hajir Hajji is remarkable, to say the least. She started working at Action 24 years ago as a shop assistant. Since 2011, she has been part of the management. As commercial director for the past three years, she has been responsible for global purchasing, marketing, e-commerce and sustainability.

Action wants to focus more on digital and sustainable growth in the years to come and is counting on Hajji to do so. As of 1 January, she will formally become CEO. Current CEO Van der Laan will stay on board until the end of March to ensure a smooth transition.

Success story

Van der Laan has led the retail chain since 2015. Under his leadership, the retailer grew from 655 stores in 6 countries to 1869 stores in 9 countries. Currently, action has more than 65,000 employees and recorded a turnover of almost 5.6 billion euros last year.

“Soon we will open our 2000th store, and I think now is the right time for Hajir to take over from me”, said van der Laan. “Hajir is Action. Her achievements within the company are second to none. And she is the appropriate professional to start leading the team and our operations into the next phase of growth and development.”