Incoming Woolworths group CEO Sam Ngumeni. Piture: LinkedIn/SamNgumeni Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL) will see a leadership change in the coming months as Roy Bagattini, group CEO, will retire at the end of September 2026. Woolworths Food CEO, Sam Ngumeni, will replace him.
Ngumeni’s appointment comes after the success of the food division under his leadership. For some time now,Woolworths Food has been a shining star within the groupwhile other divisions have struggled. The retailer said on Thursday that the leadership transition follows a period of careful consideration by the board and forms part of a long-planned succession.
Woolworths board thanked Bagattini for his service of more than six years and his commitment to the brand. “Under Roy’s stewardship, the group has materially strengthened its capital allocation disciplines and fundamentally enhanced its long-term growth and value creation prospects,” said the retailer. “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.
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“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.” According to the group’s unaudited interim group results for the26 weeks ended 28 December 2025, group turnover and concession sales were R42.5 billion. This was during Bagattini’s tenure as group CEO.
Before leading the retailer, he was at Barloworld Limited. “Leading Woolworths has been one of the great privileges of my career,” said Bagattini.
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