Robert Ryan new CEO at Lidl

LIDL Ireland & Northern Ireland have announced a change of CEO, with Robert Ryan taking over from JP Scally.

With their head office on Main Road in Tallaght, Scally has been CEO since 2015, but will return to France to take over as CEO of Lidl France.

The changes take effect from August 1.

Scally was previously Operations Director for three years in France before returning home to Ireland to take up his first CEO position with the German retailer in Ireland.

Lidl France has more than 1,600 stores and 46,000 employees.

Robert Ryan, currently Chief Customer Officer and Board member, will officially commence his new role as Chief Executive Officer for Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland from October 1.

Ryan joined Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland in 2003 and has experience across a variety of roles, from Sales Operations Manager to Regional Managing Director, Chief Operations Officer and, most recently, Chief Customer Officer.

He was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2018.

Commenting on the appointments, Scally said: “As I reflect on my nine years as CEO at Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland, I am extremely proud of the business’ development in that time – more than doubling our market share in both Ireland and Northern Ireland and bringing our value offering to dozens of new communities.

“Being recently voted Ireland‘s most reputable retailer and Northern Ireland‘s most sustainable retailer is a testament to the hard work of our team in recent years in delivering for our customers and the communities we serve.

“I am proud to leave behind an exceptional team of 7,000 talented colleagues across our operations.”