Mr. Pierre-Olivier Beckers has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Delhaize Group since January 1, 1999. He is also Chairman of the Executive Committee of Delhaize Group. Mr. Beckers was first appointed to the Board of Directors in May 1995. He earned a Bachelors degree in Applied Economics at I.A.G., Louvain-La-Neuve and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

He began working in the food retail industry in 1982 as Store Manager for a bakery chain in Belgium. Mr. Beckers joined Delhaize Group in 1983, to work initially for three years in the United States of America operations of Delhaize Group as Store Manager. After his return to Belgium, he broadened his retail experience as Buyer, Director of Purchasing, Member of the Executive Committee and Executive Vice-President of the Executive Committee in charge of International Activities.

In January 2000, Mr. Beckers was named Manager of the Year by the Belgian business magazine Trends/Tendances. He is on the Board of Directors of the Food Marketing Institute and of CIES - The Food Business Forum (an international food business network serving as interface between more than 400 retailers and suppliers from 50 countries). In 2002-2004, he served as Chairman of CIES. In December 2004, he was elected to a four-year term as President of the BOIC (Belgian Olympic Committee). Mr. Beckers is also Board member of Guberna and The Corporate Governance Committee.