Lantmännen: CEO Per Strömberg is leaving the Group

Stockholm / SE. (lm / ica) Group President and CEO Per Strömberg is leaving Lantmännen to become CEO of ICA Group, starting in April 2012 at the latest. Per Olof Nyman, Lantmännen´s Deputy CEO and CFO, will take over until a permanent successor has been appointed.

«It is very regrettable that Per is leaving us. He has done a great job and the strategy that we have been following under Per´s leadership will remain in place. Per is leaving a Lantmännen group that is more profitable, focused and well-known than it was four years ago, and we can only congratulate ICA on such a good choice of leader», says Thomas Bodén, Chair of Lantmännen.

Per Olof Nyman, who has been the Deputy CEO and CFO since 2008, will become the Acting Group President and CEO immediately, and a recruitment process to find a permanent successor is now underway.

«It has been a great privilege to run a company that is owned by Swedish farmers and that works throughout the value chain, from field to fork. It has been such an incredible journey, and I know that the road that Lantmännen is taking is the road to becoming an even more successful company», says Per Strömberg in a statement.

Strömberg (47) also has many years of experience from various international positions with Kraft Foods, among others as CEO of the Swedish operations, CEO of Kraft Denmark, head of Strategy and Business Development in the United Kingdom and as CEO of Sardus before it was sold to Atria – ICA announced in another statement.

Lantmännen is one of the Nordic area´s largest Groups within food, energy, machinery and agriculture. The Group, owned by 36’000 Swedish farmers, operates in 18 countries, has over 10’000 employees and a turnover of 36 billion SEK – approximately 3,94 billion EUR.

ICA Group is one of Northern Europe´s leading retail companies, with around 2’150 of its own and retailer-owned stores in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Group includes ICA Sweden, ICA Norway, Rimi Baltic and Real Estate as well as ICA Bank, which offers financial services to Swedish customers. ICA AB is a joint venture 40 percent owned by Hakon Invest AB of Sweden and 60 percent by Royal Ahold N.V. of the Netherlands. According to a shareholder agreement, Royal Ahold and Hakon Invest jointly share controlling influence over ICA AB.