“We are excited about this new company, which will serve as the engine that powers our US eCommerce and digital strategies,” said Kevin Holt, CEO for Ahold Delhaize USA. “As one of the largest grocery retailers and a market leader in home delivery on the East Coast, the great local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA have a strong heritage of innovation. The creation of Peapod Digital Labs and appointment of JJ to lead the new company and serve as chief eCommerce officer will enable us to sharpen our focus on leveraging the size and scale of the US brands to provide customers with a personalized and effortless shopping experience.”
Peapod Digital Labs will run the local Peapod brand, the nation’s largest online grocery retailer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, as well as accelerate growth in digital and personalization capabilities for Ahold Delhaize USA’s local brands. Also, it will serve as the innovation lab for the US portfolio of companies.
“Ahold Delhaize USA is creating Peapod Digital Labs, which will drive market-leading digital and eCommerce capabilities to power the company’s six local brands as they create best-in-class customer experiences,” Fleeman said. “We have a tremendous opportunity to build upon Peapod’s longstanding history of innovating to meet consumers’ needs to create an unparalleled omni-channel grocery experience. Whether it’s searching for inspiration on meals, shopping online or driving digital and personalization in-store, Peapod Digital Labs will enhance the digital experience to the benefit of US consumers.”
Fleeman most recently served as executive vice president, commercial services and strategy for Ahold Delhaize USA’s Retail Business Services. Before that he was chief strategy and development officer for Delhaize America and played a key role as the global integration and program leader for Delhaize Group during the merger that created Ahold Delhaize. Throughout his career Fleeman has held several different roles in strategy, marketing, operations, merchandising and led the creation of a digital center of excellence at Delhaize America.
Delhaize expects to have the new organization fully operational by year-end.
