Changing course: ahold to repay debt, tighten controls.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: BusinessBriefs - Ahold USA Inc. - Brian Hotarek promoted - Brief Article

Ahold, the food retailer burned by accounting scandals last year, will repay 920 million euros ($1.13 billion) in debt early and tighten its financial controls to prevent any kind of a repeat, the company said in April. The world's third-largest food retailer narrowly escaped financial collapse last year after revealing a massive profit overstatement, mainly at a U.S. subsidiary.

Ahold is setting up a "Business Control for Retail" function to support and challenge the retail units in reviews and analysis of actual performance and future plans, according to a Reuters report. It will also have company-wide responsibility for the coordination of Ahold's real estate strategies and capital budgeting process.

Brian Hotarek, currently CFO for Ahold's U.S...