Seven expats,  five of whom French, and four Romanians run the largest modern retailers in Romania. The CEOs listed below make sure Romanians find what they need in the biggest chains of hypermarkets, supermarkets and discounters across the country.

Hypermarkets

• Jean-Baptiste Dernoncourt, CEO at Carrefour Romania

Jean Baptiste Dernoncourt was appointed CEO of retailer Carrefour Romania in November 2013. Before joining Carrefour Romania as CFO in April 2012, he was Back Office Management & Controlling Director, Carrefour China South Territory (Guangzhou), and Director of Group performance analysis and Financial Controller with Carrefour. He also worked for Deloitte before joining Carrefour. His LinkedIn profile here.

Carrefour Romania, part of French group Carrefour, runs some 170 units on the local market. It posted sales of around EUR 1 billion in 2013.

• Frederic Bellon, CEO at Auchan Romania

Auchan Romania, part of French retail group Auchan, has appointed Frederic  Bellon as CEO in May 2014. He has been working with Auchan since 1991. He joined the Romanian team in 2009, where he held several positions.

Auchan bought competitor Real from German Metro in late-2012. The transaction was however completed in 2013. Following this transaction, French group Auchan saw its business in Romania go past the EUR 1 billion threshold. Auchan opened its 32nd supermarket in Romania in December 2014, which is located in Bucharest.

• Philippe Lejeune, CEO at Cora Romania

Philippe Lejeune is the CEO of Cora Romania, part of French Louis Delhaize. In 2003, Lejeune opened the first Cora hypermarket in Romania and then managed the retailer’s expansion on the local market. There isn’t much available information about his professional activity before joining Cora Romania. Cora ended 2013 with higher sales in Romania, of EUR 375 million.

• Marco Hossl, CEO at Kaufland Romania

Marco Hossl was named to replace Romanian Adrian Viman at the helm of retailer Kaufland Romania, according to information presented in the media in December 2014. Viman, one of the most powerful CEOs in Romanian retail, was appointed to lead Kaufland’s business in Germany. Marco Hossl was previously vice president of international sales for Kaufland.

Kaufland, which is part of German group Schwarz, is the largest retailer in Romania. It posted sales of EUR 1.64 billion on the local market in 2013, up 14% year-on-year.

Cash&Carry stores

• Gilles Roudy, CEO at Metro Cash&Carry Romania

Gilles Roudy has been the CEO of Metro Cash&Carry Romania since December 2013. Between 2009 and 2013, Roudy was commercial manager at Real International. Before joining Real’s team, he held several management positions within French group Carrefour. He graduated from the Medicine Faculty in Reims. His LinkedIn CV here.

Metro Cash&Carry International opened the first store in Romania in 1996 and now runs 32 units in the country. The retailer posted a turnover of EUR 906 million in Romania in the financial year 2013/2014.

• Alexandru Vlad, CEO at Selgros Cash&Carry Romania

Alexandru Vlad has been the CEO of Selgros Cash&Carry Romania since January 2003. Before that, he was a lawyer in the Bucharest Bar. He graduated the Law Faculty within University of Bucharest, and then graduated the Humboldt University of Berlin. He also completed an Executive Program CBS at Stanford University. His LinkedIn profile here.

Selgros, part of German group Rewe, saw its business decline by 9% in 2013, to EUR 700 million.

Supermarkets

• Xavier Piesvaux, CEO at Mega Image

French Xavier Piesvaux has been the CEO of Belgian Delhaize’s Mega Image since 2008. Before that, he held several positions within French group Carrefour. Piesvaux graduated from the Montpellier Business School in France in 1990. LinkedIn profile here.

Mega Image increased its sales by 34% in 2013, to EUR 530 million, on strong expansion on the local market. The retailer runs a network of over 410 stores in Romania.

• Sorana Georgia, CEO at Billa

Romanian Sorana Georgia has been running Billa Romania since 2011. Throughout her career, she held management positions in several companies in retail. She previously run Marionnaud Perfumeries Romania, where she was country manager. He LinkedIn profile here.

Billa Romania, part of German group Rewe, increased its business by 8% in 2013, to EUR 308 million. Billa has been present in Romania since 1999 when it opened the first supermarket in Bucharest.

• Daniel Cirstea, CEO at Profi

Daniel Cirstea has taken over as CEO of retailer Profi in January 2015. Cirstea has been operations director for Profi and began his career with the retailer in 2010 as acquisitions director and later on as commercial director. He previously worked for retailers such as Carrefour and Artima. His LinkedIn profile here.

Profi supermarkets had sales of EUR 330 million in 2013, up 27% year-on-year. Polish investment fund Enterprise Investors controls Profi.

Discounters:

• Maksymilian Braniecki, CEO at Lidl

Maksymilian Braniecki has been the CEO of Lidl Romania since 2012. Before that, he was sales director and board member within the same company. He also worked for Lidl Poland, as operations manager. His LinkedIn Profile here.

Lidl has a network of over 170 stores in Romania.

• Daniel Gross, CEO at Rewe Romania (Penny Market)

Daniel Gross is the CEO of Rewe Romania, which owns the Penny Market supermarket chain. Prior to this position, Gross was head of shared services at Mercadia Group. He was also CFO at miniMax Discount between 2003 and 2007. His entire LinkedIn profile here.

Penny Market increased its sales by 15% in 2013, to almost EUR 500 million.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com