Jitse Groen, founder of Just Eat Takeaway, steps down as CEO after 25 years

Jitse Groen, founder and CEO of Just Eat Takeaway, the parent company of Thuisbezorgd, will step down on January 1, 2026, ending a 25-year tenure that began in his student bedroom in Enschede, AD reports.

Groen started the company, originally Takeaway.com, in 2000 and grew it into one of the world’s largest online food delivery platforms. Last year, the company processed 653 million orders across its operations in 16 countries, serving 60 million customers and partnering with 362,000 restaurants.

“After a quarter-century as founder and CEO of Just Eat Takeaway, I am leaving the company today. I am extremely proud of what our team has built, and I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who was part of this extraordinary journey,” Groen said in a statement.

He will be succeeded by Roberto Gandolfo, who currently serves as chairman of Just Eat Takeaway’s supervisory board and is head of Prosus Europe. Gandolfo will take over as CEO following the company’s recent acquisition by tech investor Prosus for 4.1 billion euros. Fabricio Bloisi, also CEO of Prosus, will replace Gandolfo as chairman of the supervisory board.

Just Eat Takeaway was listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange until last month, when it delisted following the Prosus acquisition. The company operates in countries including Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In recent years, it expanded into the United States through the acquisition of Grubhub, though that venture was later reversed when the U.S. operation was sold.