SALISBURY, NC — There’s a changing of the guard at Food Lion, Ahold Delhaize’s largest US supermarket chain, with over 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.

Greg Finchum, executive vice president of retail operations, has been promoted to president of Food Lion, succeeding Meg Ham, who plans to retire after holding that post since 2014 and serving more than 35 years in the Ahold Delhaize organization. Plans call for Finchum to take the president’s reins when Ham retires on May 2, 2025.

A 21-year Food Lion veteran, Finchum has served in his current position since January 2013. His previous roles at the grocery chain included vice president of strategy and business planning, vice president of retail services, and director of retail labor and standard practices. He joined Food Lion as director of retail operations in November 2003, when the grocer was part of Belgium-based Delhaize Group before its merger with The Netherlands-based Royal Ahold to form Ahold Delhaize in 2016.

“We are excited to have Greg, a talented retail operator at heart, step into this role,” said JJ Fleeman, chief executive officer of Ahold Delhaize USA. “Greg has held a variety of roles throughout the organization, including having served as head of strategy and head of retail services. He leads with a strategic discipline and focus that delivers strong results and solid performance at Food Lion. I look forward to working with him more closely in his new role next year as the leader for the brand.”

Finchum has played a key role in Food Lion’s strategic repositioning, Ahold Delhaize USA noted. In recent years, Food Lion has upgraded most of its stores, led by enhancements of its fresh food offerings, while boosting online grocery pickup and delivery services and sharpening its value proposition to consumers.

“I’m humbled to take on this new position in May,” Finchum said. “I want to thank JJ and Meg for being great mentors and for their confidence in me. Throughout my career at Food Lion, I’ve had the opportunity to work across many functions, in addition to retail operations, that have given me a depth of experience and knowledge about the Food Lion business that will serve me well as I prepare to transition to this new role.”

Ahold Delhaize USA had announced Ham’s plan to retire over a week ago. She had served as a vice president at Food Lion from 2000 to 2009 before leaving to join Bottom Dollar Food, a now-defunct discount grocery concept of Delhaize America. Ham was president of Bottom Dollar from 2010 to 2014 before coming back to Food Lion. She also held roles in retail operations and merchandising at sister Delhaize America chain Hannaford, where she started her grocery career.

“Meg has been an outstanding leader at Ahold Delhaize USA and has led Food Lion during one of the brand’s most exciting times as it repositioned itself to better serve customers, while staying true to its core attributes of low prices and convenient locations,” Fleeman said. “Under Meg’s leadership, the brand has experienced tremendous growth.”

Besides Food Lion and Hannaford, Ahold Delhaize USA’s supermarket chains include Giant Food, The Giant Company and Stop & Shop, with all five operating a total of 2,045 grocery stores along the East Coast.