Carrefour s CEO Bernard to resign

Daniel Bernard will resign as chairman and chief executive of Carrefour in a big board shake-up at the world s second-biggest retailer expected to be announced on Thursday, the Financial Times has reported. Mr Bernard, head of the French group for 12 years, will be replaced as chairman of a new supervisory board by Luc Vandevelde, former head of Marks & Spencer, the UK retailer.
Bernard s departure follows months of negotiations between the chairman and his largest shareholder, which had demanded significant management changes in light of the poor performance in Carrefour s home market. Mr Bernard has faced heavy pressure from the Halley family, which owns 13 per cent of Carrefour and is unhappy about the drop in the company s share price since 2000. The Carrefour boss has also been criticised for several years of underperformance at its French hypermarkets, which account for a quarter of group sales and more than a third of profits.