Wages of Albert Heijn parent’s CEO jumped 14% to €6.5 million

The high profit earned by supermarket group Ahold Delhaize has also made its way into the pockets of those at the top layer of the company. CEO Frans Muller saw his wages rise by 800,000 euros last year to more than 6.5 million euros, according to the company’s annual report. Ahold Delhaize is the parent company of supermarket chain Albert Heijn and web retail firm Bol.com.

The salary of the Ahold Delhaize top executives is made up of a base salary that, in Muller’s case, has remained virtually the same. It also concerns bonuses that are paid partly in cash and partly in shares, in addition to pension and other forms of compensation. These remunerations significantly increased in value last year, also for other executives.

Among them is Kevin Holt, CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA. As a result, he actually earned more than Muller, slightly over 6.6 million euros. The company’s American brands include Food Lion, Giant, Stop & Shop, and Peapod.

Ahold Delhaize’s turnover rose by 15.9 percent to 23.3 billion euros during the fourth quarter of 2022. For the whole of 2022, turnover equaled 87 billion euros, which was also an increase of more than 15 percent. That accounted for a profit of 2.5 billion euros, compared to 2.2 billion euros in 2021. The company sold more in the US in particular, with profit margins there being greater than in Europe.

The salaries of Ahold’s executives in 2021 were actually lower than the year before. For example, Muller earned just over 6 million euros in 2020, and a year later about 5.7 million euros. In that year, the supervisory board of Ahold Delhaize decided to adjust the cash bonuses downwards: instead of 150 percent of their base salary, executives only received 125 percent.