Dutch retailer Koninklijke Ahold NV (AH.AE) said Friday that Albert Heijn, its former chief executive officer and grandson of the founder, died Thursday at the age of 83.

Heijn joined the company in 1949 as a salesman in an Amsterdam supermarket, was appointed CEO in 1962 and retired in 1989. He stayed on as a member of the supervisory board until 1997.

He was also a member of the supervisory board of, among others, Dutch staffing company Randstad NV (RAND.AE) and financial services company ABN Amro.

Together with brother Gerrit Jan Heijn, who was on the Ahold executive board until 1987--when he was murdered following a kidnapping--Albert Heijn expanded into the U.S. in 1973 with the acquisition of Bi-Lo and Giant Carlisle, transforming the company from a national retailer to an international supermarket chain.

Under the leadership of the grandson of founder Albert Heijn, who started the company in 1887, the company introduced to the Netherlands such elements as the sell-by date and private-label products. In addition, Heijn played a leading role in the establishment of a uniform barcode that remains the global standard today.

Heijn died at Pudleston Court, his home in the U.K., the company said.

-By Anna Marij van der Meulen; Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 5715 216; annamarij.vandermeulen@dowjones.com
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