Royal Ahold, the Netherlands-based supermarket and foodservice operator, said that Jim Miller, chief executive of US Foodservice, has resigned, according to a
New York Times report. US Foodservice is the Ahold subsidiary that is the focus of an $800 million accounting scandal.
Miller’s sudden departure came just hours before the company’s first shareholders meeting since the scandal arose in February, the report said. He is the fifth Ahold executive to leave in connection with the accounting irregularities.
At the meeting, Henny de Ruiter, chairman of Ahold, told shareholders he regretted the losses they had sustained due to the scandal and the subsequent freefall in the company’s share price. He did not blame Miller for the difficulties at US Foodservice, where Ahold has said earnings were overstated by some $880 million because of improper accounting of promotional payments from food manufacturers, the report said.
De Ruiter did not say if Miller had been asked to resign, according to the report.