He is not the first Spar CEO to jump ship amid uncertainty.
Angelo Swartz resigned as Spar Group CEO on Friday morning. It comes as the group faces a hefty lawsuit from one of its main franchisees and turnaround risks.
In a note to shareholders, the retailer said Swartz’s last day as CEO will be on Friday, 27 February 2026. It added that he will stay with Spar for three months to ensure a smooth handover and assist in concluding key strategic initiatives currently underway.
He is not the first CEO to jump ship amid uncertainty. Swartz took the helm in October 2023, following a chaotic period in which Brett Botten retired after less than two years as CEO.
During Botten’s tenure, the group faced several governance questions, which eventually led to Botten’s retirement.
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Swartz leaves the top job
Swartz has worked for Spar for 19 years, including the time (less than three years) as CEO. The board noted that Swartz was trusted with steering the company during a difficult time.
“During his tenure, he led the business through a challenging period of operational stabilisation, portfolio simplification and balance sheet strengthening,” read the note. “The board thanks him for his contribution during this important phase.”
Spar under Swartz leadership
Swartz guided the retailer through a challenging period, focusing on stabilising daily operations after years of decline and high debt. His leadership resulted in selling off its Swiss and Polish businesses and exiting UK operations to simplify the portfolio and reduce financial strain.
The retailer also saw a 40% reduction in debt to R5.4 billion from R9.1 billion in 2024.
He leaves as a turnaround strategy aimed at restoring competitiveness in the country’s retail landscape is being implemented. For the financial year 2025, the group recorded a significant loss of over R5 billion due to impairments from discontinued overseas operations.
Swartz’s tenure was marked by efforts to streamline Spar’s business, strengthen its balance sheet and reposition it for organic growth.
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Incoming CEO
The board has appointed Reeza Isaacs, the group CFO, to take the top job effective from 1 March 2026.
Isaacs was previously at Woolworths before joining Spar. “His [Isaacs] stewardship has contributed materially to improving financial oversight, embedding cost discipline and advancing the group’s margin recovery and deleveraging priorities,” said the retailer.
The board has appointed Megan Pydigadu, group COO, as the new CFO effective from 1 March 2026. “Her [Pydigadu] appointment ensures continuity, institutional depth and strengthened financial oversight as Spar continues to focus on disciplined capital allocation, cost management and balance sheet resilience,” said the retailer.
Does the group need a COO?
A COO is responsible for overseeing a company’s day-to-day operations, ensuring that business activities run efficiently and align with the organisation’s overall strategy and goals.
However, shareholders have expressed concern about the Spar assuming this role, given that neither Shoprite nor Pick n Pay has a COO role.
While announcing leadership changes, the retailer also said it will be undertake a structure review of the portfolios previously overseen by the COO.
“In the interim, these operational portfolios will continue to be managed by the existing divisional leadership teams. Further updates on any structural refinements will be communicated in due course.”
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Commitment to strengthening performance
The retailer said it remains committed to strengthening performance in Southern Africa, improving margin resilience, advancing balance-sheet deleveraging, and simplifying the group’s portfolio.
“To enhance execution in the group’s main Southern Africa retail business, the board has decided to establish a dedicated managing director position for the groceries and liquor segment,” said Spar.
“This new role will deliver targeted operational leadership for the group’s key value-generating segment and reinforce accountability in driving performance improvements.”
Lawsuit pending
Business Day reported in late January that the retailer is facing a R168.7 million lawsuit from one of its main franchisees, the Giannacopoulos family, over the botched SAP rollout at the wholesaler’s marquee KwaZulu-Natal distribution centre.
The family owns and operates 46 retail stores consisting of Spar, SuperSpar and Tops shops.
The Giannacopoulos family, in court papers lodged with the Durban high court, alleges that the wholesaler’s failed SAP system rollout caused severe supply chain breakdowns, empty shelves, lost customers and hundreds of millions of rand in damages.
To this end, the family has incurred losses of R142.9 million in gross profit and gross profit margin claims for the financial years 2023-2025, plus interest.
These losses were calculated using historical growth rates and expected margins, compared with actual performance after the SAP rollout.
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