Stop & Shop parent appoints James MCann as chief operating officer of Ahold USA

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Ahold, the corporate parent of such supermarket chains as Stop & Shop as well as the Peapod online grocery ordering and delivery service, announced the appointment of James McCann as chief operating officer of Ahold USA, effective Feb. 1.

McCann will succeed Carl Schlicker, who has announced his retirement.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Ahold is an international food company.

In a statement, Ahold chief executive Dick Boer said of McCann: ‘’Since his start with Ahold, James has focused on strengthening our e-commerce proposition and customer loyalty programs as part of the company’s robust growth strategy that was launched last year and is now being implemented. This appointment is a natural next step for James. With his international experience in leading roles at global retailers, James is very well qualified to take on this important role within Ahold.”