Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL) today announced that Group Chief Executive Officer Roy Bagattini will retire at the end of September 2026, after more than six years of distinguished service to the Group.

Following significant progress in the strategic repositioning of WHL, and given Roy’s pending retirement, the Board and Roy believe that now is the optimal time to transition leadership as WHL builds on its strengthened foundations and growth prospects. This follows a period of careful consideration by the Board, and forms part of a long-planned leadership succession.

Under Roy’s stewardship, the Group has materially strengthened its capital allocation disciplines and fundamentally enhanced its long-term growth and value creation prospects. This included the transformational disposal of David Jones, the deleveraging of the Group’s balance sheet, increased investment in the company’s core South African assets, the acquisition of Absolute Pets, the launch of Woolworths Ventures and the Group’s first-ever share buyback programme. He has also overseen the repositioning of the apparel businesses in both South Africa and Australia, improving their longer-term competitiveness. Beyond strategy and performance, Roy’s passion for the Woolworths brand and its people, has been a hallmark of his leadership.

Roy Bagattini said: “Leading Woolworths has been one of the great privileges of my career. We have an exceptional team and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. I leave confident that Woolworths is well placed for the future and wish Sam and the leadership team well as they take on the exciting challenges of this next important chapter for Woolies.”

The Board expresses its sincere appreciation to Roy for his contribution and commitment to the Group.

Following a comprehensive succession process, the Board is pleased to announce the appointment of an internal successor, Sam Ngumeni, as Group Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 June 2026. Sam has been with the Group for almost 30 years and is currently CEO of the Food division.

Sam has an exemplary track record. Since assuming leadership of the Food business, he has led the division’s continued above-market performance and further strengthened its market-leading position in premium food retailing in South Africa. In his previous role as Group Chief Operating Officer, Sam had overall responsibility for a number of the Group’s key functions in South Africa, other African operations, and Australia, with overall accountability for Stores; Online; Supply Chain; IT; Data & Analytics; Real Estate; and the Rest of Africa division. His deep operational expertise, strong institutional knowledge and broad leadership experience position him well to lead the Group in this next phase of its strategic journey.
Chairman Clive Thomson said: “Sam has extensive experience across various roles and functions within the Group and a proven ability to set clear strategic priorities and execute effectively against these. He is a principled and highly respected executive, able to inspire and empower leadership teams to deliver on key strategic and operational initiatives across our businesses. His deep institutional knowledge, commercial acumen, and strong capability to drive performance will be invaluable as the Group further intensifies its execution in a rapidly evolving retail environment.”

To ensure continuity, Roy will step down as Group CEO and executive director on 31 May 2026 and will work closely with Sam until his retirement.

Incoming Group CEO Sam Ngumeni said: “I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Group CEO of this iconic company, and one which is held in such high regard. I feel a profound sense of responsibility in leading this business in the next phase of its growth trajectory, and am truly excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for us.”

The WHL Board said it had full confidence in Sam’s leadership of the WHL Group into the future.