Dive Summary:

• After finalizing their merger last week, Office Depot and Officemax have named a new CEO to lead the combined company.
• Roland Smith will serve as chief executive of the newly merged office supply retailer after formerly serving as CEO for Delhaize America.
• Neil Austrian and Ravi Saligram served as interim co-CEOs during the search for a new chief executive and have since resigned their positions as planned to make way for Smith.

Dive Insight:

Prior to his tenure with $18 billion food retailing division Delhaize America, Roland Smith served as CEO for Wendy’s and Arby’s fast food chains. Smith played a vital role in leading the re-branding of each fast food brand and helped coordinate the merger and sale of Arby’s. So, Smith has past experience with integrating large retail companies and leveraging assets. You can see why he became a desirable candidate for the new mega-power in office supplies.