Retail CSOs do a shuffle

Woolworths' chief sustainability officer (CSO) has taken a job with an Amsterdam-based supermarket and will be replaced by an Arnott's executive.

Arnott's Simon Lowden was chief transformation officer at the biscuit brand, following a move from PepsiCo where he had spent more than two decades rising up through the ranks to become CSO and lead the beverage retailer's first sustainability strategy and platform.

Meanwhile, Alex Holt has now relocated to Amsterdam to join Dutch-Belgian multinational food retail group Ahold Delhaize, as chief sustainability officer and a member of its executive committee.

Holt joined Woolworths Group in 2015 as general manager of concept development, quickly became general manager of quality, health and group sustainability, and then CSO in 2021.

She has also exited Foodbank Australia as non-executive director.

A Woolworths spokesperson said that as CSO, Holt "played a vital role in creating our sustainability plan and leading the transformation to help us deliver it - and achieve international recognition as a leading retailer in sustainability."

"Simon's passion for retail paired with his commitment to creating a better tomorrow will be a great inclusion to our sustainability team. We're looking forward to Simon hitting the ground running when he joins us and working with our broader team to continue to deliver a better tomorrow for our people, communities and planet."

Ahold Delhaize, the €25 billion Europe-headquartered retail conglomerate, announced six months ago the May retirement of its chief legal and sustainability officer Jan Ernst de Groot.

Frans Muller, Ahold Delhaize CEO, said Alex "is an inspiring leader with a deep understanding of the challenges that this role brings to a food retail company with ambitions connected to health, nature, and climate."

Holt was nominated earlier this year for FS Sustainability's ESG Power 50 Awards as one of the most influential ESG professionals working at ASX-listed companies in Australia.

During her time at Woolworths, Holt helped get Scope 1 and 2 emissions reductions to 40% below the 2015 baseline (as of December 2023), set the wheels in motion for a target of 80% mitigation of Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and launched the group transport decarbonisation strategy.

In the 2023 financial year the group reportedly delivered over $500 million in net societal benefit through investments in health, food security, decarbonisation and circularity.

However, the group has faced criticism from environmental campaigners for the impact of its salmon farming on the endangered Maugean Skate in Tasmania.

It has also fielded a senate inquiry over price gouging allegations.