Key Milestones

- Albert Heijn (born 1927) in service at Albert Heijn NV 1949-1951

- Manager development self service in Albert Heijn supermarkets 1951-1953

- Director Marketing 1953-1958

- President Albert Heijn Retail 1958-1962

- President of Board Albert Heijn (now Royal Ahold BV) (1962-1989)

Dr. Albert Heijn is the retired grandson of the founder of the largest Dutch grocery chain of the same name. It is the cornerstone of the international grocery chain Royal Ahold B.V. based in Amsterdam, which he headed. Because of the group’s U.S. supermarkets (now Tops and Giant), Heijn became aware of the work being done in the early 1970s to develop the U.P.C. and he followed it closely as a "guest" attendee at meetings of the Board of Governors of the Uniform Code Council.

Although there were uncoordinated parallel efforts under way in France and Germany, Heijn felt that the U.P.C. model should be the basis for the European system, using the “hidden” ability to expand numeric capacity of the symbol by a factor of 10 using variations in the parity pattern. He conducted checkout tests of internally bar coded product in his Dutch stores.

In 1977 the national coding groups from these two countries plus others together formed the European Article Number (EAN) organization, with Albert Heijn as its Chairman. In the opinion of many, his efforts were the single-most influential factor in the development of a Global Standard for product numbering.

Education
HBS at Zaandam University at Breukelen, Netherlands and training periods in Zurich and London

Honorary Doctorate at Nijenrode University of business administration

Business/Positions

Member Board of Royal Ahold BV

Board Member of ABN Amro Bank BV

President Levensmiddelenhandel CBL

President of the Board Transavia Airlines BV

Community/Social Functions

President of Ediforum

President foundation to promotion of Uniform Article coding EAN

Member planning Council Management Centre, Brussels

President of supervisory board 'packing and environment'

President Eurocommerce

Member governing board Food Marketing Institute, Washington, DC

Director Dutch Society of the Sciences