After completing the Company’s redirection, Stephen DuCharme, the Executive Chairman so far, resumes his role as Non-Executive Chairman.
Martín Tolcachir, CEO of Dia Argentina, is appointed Global CEO of the Dia Group to manage the company and execute the resulting acceleration strategy to achieve growth.
Ricardo Álvarez, CEO of Dia Spain, leads acceleration of the model in the Group’s main market, Spain.
This new leadership design sets up a corporate governance of proven success and entails separation of the roles of Chairman and Global CEO within a framework of continuity.
Dia aims to accelerate its sustainable and profitable business growth in continuity of its strategy rooted in a market leading vision of proximity through unique value proposition in store and online in the retail sector.
Madrid, 30 August 2022. The Board of Directors of the Dia Group, on a proposal by its Chairman Stephan DuCharme, has approved the appointment of Martín Tolcachir (formerly CEO of Dia Argentina) as Global CEO of the Dia Group. Tolcachir will take over implementation of the Company’s strategy at the global level and lead execution of the acceleration towards sustainable growth in countries in which it operates.
The new CEO will work hand in hand with Stephan DuCharme who, after completing the redirection phase of the company will continue to be closely linked to Dia, resuming his duties as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
By separating the roles of Chairman and CEO under this new corporate governance structure, Grupo Dia seeks to accelerate its sustainable, profitable growth and concentrate on development of its strategic priorities while maintaining a closer, friendlier relationship with its stakeholders.
As Stephan DuCharme, Chairman of the Dia Group puts it: “After my appointment in March 2020 as CEO we realized that implementing our strategy’s roadmap would require patience and a lot of hard work. It entailed development of a new Group operating model based on decentralized national leadership empowered with full responsibility for the bottom line and strategically supported from corporate headquarters. It was also vital to strengthen our trust relationship with our stakeholders.” “We focus on providing a value proposal differentiated from those of our competitors,” he added. “A new store concept, a review of our product range and acceleration of the development of our own brand. But above all we are laying the foundations for a new leadership model and a stable management team. This road map is already being implemented, as Martín Tolcachir’s promotion clearly proves.
I am tremendously proud of having brought the redirection company plan to a successful conclusion thanks to the amazing team we have today. I have full confidence in Martín’s ability to lead this group of qualified experts on the basis of his knowledge of the company and its culture, his prior experience as CEO of Dia Argentina and other multinationals and his ability to face challenges such as inflation.”
Within this upgraded organizational structure Martín Tolcachir will be responsible for implementing Dia Group’s renovated strategy as CEO and of ensuring the continuity of a strategy that is already producing tangible results. Martín’s appointment coincides with the beginning of a new phase after reaching an important milestone: we have successfully fulfilled the main targets of the 2020 roadmap by achieving 80% of its business goals and it is now entering the growth phase, as the outcomes for the first half of this year clearly show.
With a degree in Business Administration from the University of Buenos Aires and an MBA from the IMD Business School, the new Global CEO of the Dia Group has a track record of more than twenty years’ experience in the distribution and mass consumption sector in companies such as Carrefour and Electrolux. He joined Dia in September 2020. His experience in building solid, reputable brands and his success at Dia Argentina where he drove implementation of the company’s strategy and value proposition and developed a strong executive team are his best credentials. His appointment shows the Dia Group’s commitment to internal talent that has strengthened the leadership of the Management Committee over the last two and a half years by incorporating managers with proven track records who will now work under Tolcachir’s fresh leadership style.
Martin Tolcachir, the new Global CEO of the Dia Group, himself had this to say: “I face this new challenge with a deep sense of responsibility and enthusiasm. My aim is to ensure that the sum of all the work of all the people who comprise this great company strengthens our focus on the customer and the strategy of acceleration towards growth. To do so we will continue to concentrate on the proximity factor without forgetting the values without which Dia means nothing: our strong social commitment and our decisive support for our franchisees and local suppliers plus digitalization and e-commerce as levers to reinforce the proximity factor”.
Furthermore, he promised that “as CEO of the Dia Group I will keep our ambition to lead the neighborhood store sector wherever we operate and to do so with prices everyone can afford. I am absolutely certain of one thing: I have the support of the best management team, the passion of all our employees, franchisees and suppliers and the loyalty of our customers to keep on building the new Dia that we dream of becoming”.
The Spanish market will continue to play an essential role in the company’s growth in this new strategic framework. It represents more than 60% of Grupo Dia’s turnover and will have an even more central role in this new phase. The CEO of Dia Spain, Ricardo Álvarez, will play a vital part in generating growth and profitability for the Dia Group in this market and will have the staunch backing of Tolcachir and the Board of Directors.
