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 group while 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.
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Bagattini’s commitment to the brand
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.
“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.”
Woolworths performance
According to the group’s unaudited interim group results for the 26 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.
“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.”
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From Food CEO to Woolworths group CEO
Ngumeni will take the reins effective on 1 June 2026 after holding various positions at the retailer for nearly 30 years.
“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,” said the retailer.
“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. 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.”
Why Ngumeni?
Ngumeni is set to go from being paid R17.9 million per year (excluding the R8 million bonus) to being paid something along the lines of R41 million (Bagattini’s salary package, excluding the performance bonus and sign-on share allocation). These figures are according to the group’s remuneration report for the 2025 financial year.
“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,” said Clive Thomson, chairman of the board.
“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.”
Confidence in Ngumeni’s leadership
“The WHL Board said it had full confidence in Sam’s leadership of the WHL Group into the future,” said the retailer.
Bagattini will step down as group CEO and executive director on 31 May 2026 and will work closely with Ngumeni until his retirement.
“I am deeply honoured to be appointed as group CEO of this iconic company, and one which is held in such high regard,” said Ngumeni.
I feel a profound sense of responsibility in leading this business in the next phase of its growth trajectory. I am truly excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for us.”
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