Reckitt names Ahold Delhaize's Carr as its new finance chief

Reckitt Benckiser pinched Ahold Delhaize chief financial officer, Jeff Carr, appointing him to take over the same role at the consumer goods giant in place of its current finance director Adrian Hennah, who was set to retire.

Carr had served as CFO for the Dutch grocer since 2011, having previously held senior positions at Grand Metropolitan, Associated British Foods, easyJet and First Group, as well as in senior finance roles at Reckitt between 1994-2004.

The executive also served as a non-executive director in Kingfisher.

Hennah was to step down from his post on 9 April, when Carr was due to come onboard, but would remain at the company until 21 October in order to ensure a smooth transition.

Commenting on Carr's appointment, Reckitt chief executive officer, Laxman Narasimhan, said: "Jeff brings extensive experience across consumer and retail companies and is also an alumnus of RB.

"Jeff has a record of transformational strategic and operational leadership, consistent performance delivery, strong capital allocation discipline and with building strong teams; all of which lead to long term shareholder value creation."

As of 1435 BST, shares of Reckitt were trading lower by 1.53% to 5,913.0p.