Impeccable transition in the Management of Grupo Éxito

Gonzalo Restrepo Lopez, who has managed the largest retail company in the country for 22 years, announced today, during the Company's Board of Directors, his decision to step-down from his position in order to dedicate himself to his family and to new activities related to the development of Colombia.

 

Download here the photo of Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno

• For more than two decades heading Grupo Éxito , the Colombian l leader in retail, Gonzalo Restrepo López succeeded to make the Company grow from 5 stores in 1990 to 427 stores in Colombia, 52 in Uruguay and 35,600 employees today.
• The French Group Casino, Éxito's major shareholder, would like to sincerely thank Mr. Restrepo López for his outstanding contribution to the development of Grupo Éxito.
• In accordance with the transition procedure planned and organized in close collaboration with Gonzalo Restrepo, the Board of Directors has appointed Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno as new Chief Executive Officer.

 

Mr Giraldo has been Grupo Éxito's Chief Operating Officer for the last five years. Gonzalo Restrepo Lopez, Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Éxito for 22 years, announced today during the Board of Directors held in Bogotá, his decision to step down from his position in order to dedicate more time to his family and to contribute to the economic and social development of Colombia including the country's international relations. This decision will be effective March 19 th, day of the General Meeting of Shareholders.

In a moving emotional message delivered by Guillermo Valencia, Chairman of the Board, all board members expressed their gratitude and congratulated Gonzalo Restrepo López for the time spent as the head of the company: "During all these years, with his involvement, his global vision and his sharp strategic sense, Gonzalo managed to transform this company into the largest and most admired retail group of the country, having at the same time initiated its international expansion through the acquisition of the companies DISCO and DEVOTO, market leaders in Uruguay"

Casino Group, major shareholder of Grupo Éxito, expressed its very sincere gratefulness to Mr. Restrepo López for his outstanding contribution to the development of the Company which, under his leadership, has become the leader in the food retail industry in Colombia and one of the most successful companies in the region. The Board of Directors has appointed Gonzalo Restrepo López as senior advisor of the Company. He will be also appointed Chairman of the Board for the Casino Foundation based in France. In the same way, he will retain his position of Chairman of the Board for the Fundación Éxito, entity into which he brought his strategic focus on childcare and that will be celebrating its 30 th anniversary this year.

Appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Éxito The Board of Directors has unanimously appointed Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, a position that will be effective March 20 th, 2013. Since joining Éxito in 2008, Carlos Mario Giraldo has been Retail Chief Operating Officer and has worked in close collaboration with Gonzalo Restrepo López, ensuring a professional and efficient transition.

The Board of Directors led by Mr. Guillermo Valencia, Casino Group and Mr. Gonzalo Restrepo López sent their best wishes of success in his new responsibilities to Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno. Mr. Giraldo will also count on the involvement and the expertise of the Management team and the whole staff of Éxito in order to continue with the current growth momentum and to face new challenges.

Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno graduated in law from Universidad de Medellín with a postgraduate degree in commercial law from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. He holds a Master degree in law from Tulane University. He also studied Management of Strategic Planning in retail at Babson College and management and marketing at Kellog and Stanford universities. He has 18 years of professional experience in the consumer and retail industry, including 13 years at Nutresa (Zenú and Noel) and 5 years in Grupo Éxito. He was Chief Executive Officer of Noel Food Industries and then Chief Executive Officer of Noel Biscuit Company for 10 years. He was also Chairman of the Board for the National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI) between 2003 and 2004. Currently he is the Chairman of the Board for the Coca Cola retail council for Latin America and for last 5 years, he has been Retail Chief Operating Officer in Grupo Éxito.

Gonzalo Restrepo López's career

In 1990, at the age of 39, Gonzalo Retrepo López was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Éxito, a company that at the time had only 5 stores, four in Antioquia and one in Bogota. After 22 years under his leadership, Grupo Éxito has become the largest private company in Colombia in terms of employees and the second largest in terms of revenues, with a total of 427 stores located in 82 mid-sized cities of Colombia and 52 stores in Uruguay under the banners Disco and Devoto, also market leaders in their country.After its introduction on the Colombian Stock Exchange in 1994, Éxito accelerated its growth acquiring in 1999 Gran Cadena de Almacenes Colombianas SA - SA Cadenalco (Ley Superley, and Pomono Optimo), and in 2007, Carulla Vivero SA, owner of the banners Carulla Vivero, Surtimax and Homemart.

Grupo Éxito has today more than 8,500 shareholders and over 400 international investors and all the Colombian pension funds. Respecting people and the organizational culture have been a major strategic focus of Grupo Éxito and have helped to successfully integrate these operations and deliver the positive results of the Company today. Under the direction of Gonzalo Restrepo López, Grupo Éxito has also implemented an ambitious development strategy of complementary activities such as real estate and other activities established through partnerships with some of the leading players in Colombia: Tarjeta Éxito with Bancolombia – through Compañía de Financiamiento Comercial Tuya – Seguros Éxito, insurance products with Grupo Sura, Viajes Éxito, travel services with Avianca and Gas stations (EDS).