Axel Hluchy Appointed New Head Of Metro Germany

Metro AG today announced that it has appointed Axel Hluchy as the new managing director of its Cash…

Metro AG today announced that it has appointed Axel Hluchy as the new managing director of its Cash & Casrry business in Germany.

49-year-old Mluchy, who joined Europe's fourth largest retailer in 1997, will take the helm at struggling Metro Germany from the beginning of April.

He will replace Dominique Minnaert, who requested to be moved to another position within Metro AG because of health reasons.

Currently, Mluchy is the managing director of Metro's Czech wholesale operation, Makro Cash & Carry. The economics graduate has served in many roles across Metro Group over the past 17 years. He was responsible for introducing the International Accounting Standards (IAS) across the Düsseldorf-based retailing group.

In 2000, he took over the position of finance director in Metro's Bulgarian business and in 2002 he assumed the position of Managing Director of the newly founded subsidiary Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine.

The Rhineland-born man held this position for around six years and was responsible for the establishment and expansion of activities in this Eastern European country.

"With Axel Hluchy, an experienced and highly successful wholesale manager is taking over the lead of METRO Cash & Carry Germany in order to continue advancing the repositioning of the company", said Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of METRO AG.

"Axel Hluchy has led our Cash & Carry business to great success, both in a growth country and also in a mature market. We are pleased that he is now contributing his expertise in Germany".

The previous Managing Director of METRO Cash & Carry Germany, Dominique Minnaert, will in future coordinate the international expansion of the wholesale activities at METRO GROUP.

"We regret that we are losing Dominique Minnaert as the head of our German activities, on the one hand, but we fully understand that he wants to pursue another activity for health reasons", stressed Koch. "Dominique Minnaert did an outstanding job and set the course for the realignment of the German wholesale business.