The board of directors of Dia has reported the resignation of Stephan DuCharme as director and president of the supermarket chain. He will be replaced in the position of non-executive president by Benjamin J. Babcock, as reported by the company to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
Specifically, DuCharme announced its decision to leave the company after the end of its relationship with LetterOne, the supermarket chain’s largest shareholder, as managing partner of L1Retail.
The board has accepted his resignation and has thanked him for the services provided during his mandate, highlighting his contribution to the transformation of the brand and the consolidation towards business growth, the firm says in a statement reported by the Europa Press agency.
Following DuCharme’s resignation, the board of directors has appointed Benjamin J. Babcock as non-executive chairman, following a favorable report from the appointments and remuneration committee.
Babcock, Chief Financial Officer of LetterOne, has extensive professional experience having spent a decade working for Morgan Stanley as Managing Director in London and at Merrill Lynch and Lazard in London and Canada. He was appointed proprietary director by co-option of the supermarket chain last May.
“I am delighted to support Dia as president during this period in which LetterOne is actively seeking a new proprietary representative. I would like to thank Stephan DuCharme on behalf of the board of directors, and LetterOne, for his important work over the years, highlighting his valuable contribution to the transformation of the Group and the consolidation towards business growth,” said Benjamin B. Babcock.
Stephan DuCharme joined Dia in 2019 when LetterOne became the company’s largest shareholder, at which time he assumed the role of non-executive chairman and subsequently served as executive chairman.
However, in 2022, DuCharme became chairman of the board of directors, after the supermarket chain separated the positions of president and global CEO (first executive) of the group. Martín Tolcachir, who held the position of CEO of Dia Argentina, assumed the position of CEO of the group.
“We have implemented the roadmap of our strategy, with patience and hard work. We have focused on offering a differentiated value proposition compared to our competitors, a new store concept, reviewing our assortment and accelerating the development of our own brand,” explained DuCharme.
DuCharme has highlighted the milestones achieved by the company in recent years. “These results would not have been possible without the commitment and enormous effort of the employees, management team, franchisees, suppliers and other companions on this Grupo Dia journey. I would also like to thank our financial and commercial partners for their support of the company. over the last five years,” he said.
For his part, Dia’s global CEO, Martín Tolcachir, has highlighted the work carried out by DuCharme over the years. “We can proudly affirm that after a phase of redirection and acceleration towards growth, we have moved on to a phase of business consolidation. Without Stephan’s work this would not have been possible. His leadership at Grupo Dia has allowed us to promote our purpose and redirect our business,” he highlighted.
“Our commitment is proximity and our strategy is clear. With Ben’s support as president we will continue with our roadmap that is bearing fruit. The appointment of Benjamin J. Babcock as president reflects the constant commitment of the reference shareholders and the continuity of the strategy for the next phase of the Dia Group”, he stressed.
