OREANDA-NEWS. March 2, 2011. X5 Retail Group N.V. (the “Company”), Russia's largest retailer in terms of sales, announced today the approval by the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the appointment of Mr. Kieran Balfe as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Management Board of the Company (Director “A”) with immediate effect for a period of four years ending on the day of the Annual General Meeting in 2015.

Kieran Balfe has almost two decades of management experience in the Russian market, most recently at Mars Inc., a global leader in branded consumer food, confectionary and pet care products with USD 30 billion in sales. Following Mars' acquisition of confectionary leader Wrigley, Kieran played a major role in the integration of the two companies' Russian operations to drive efficiencies and leverage global scale and best practices. From 2001 to 2009, Kieran was Wrigley's Deputy General Manager and CFO for Emerging Markets, responsible for corporate finance, strategic business planning, tax, compliance and audit functions with additional experience in managing IT, legal, overseeing a team of 150 people in Russia, Central Asia and other. In addition to managing organic business growth, Kieran participated in Wrigley's acquisition of Russia's premier chocolate company, Korkunov.

Kieran, 41, was born in Ireland and holds a Masters' degree in accountancy from University College, Dublin. He qualified as a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland in 1993 and was awarded his Fellowship (highest professional rank) in 2005. He is fluent in English and Russian and has worked in Russia since 1994, starting as an auditor with Coopers and Lybrand. From 1996 to 2001, he held positions at Glencore, American Home Products and Japan Tobacco.