Highly rated former Tesco and Carrefour man James McCann has joined Dutch grocer Ahold in a new role of chief commercial and development officer.

McCann last month parted company with Carrefour after just 15 months running its French business. Prior to that he had held various different roles in Tesco, including running its Malaysian and Hungarian businesses.

In his new role at Ahold, McCann will have responsibility for its ecommerce businesses, developing customer loyalty and overseeing the integration of new businesses.

Ahold is the market leader in the Netherlands, where it runs the Albert Hejin chain, but the majority of its sales are in the US.