Retail giant fills two C-suite roles as it accelerates omnichannel strategy

Grupo Éxito (BVC: EXITO), Colombia’s largest retail operator, has appointed two senior executives to newly defined C-suite roles as part of a long-term strategy centered on commercial competitiveness and digital transformation. The company named Paula Sanabria as Chief Commercial Officer and Juan Camilo Suárez as Chief Digital and Technology Officer, effective immediately.

Sanabria holds a degree in business administration from the Universidad Internacional de las Américas in San José, Costa Rica, and brings 26 years of experience in the retail sector. Her background spans strategic category management, high-performance team development, and results-oriented commercial execution.

Suárez is an industrial engineer from Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, and has supplemented his academic preparation with studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, and Stanford University. He has more than 28 years of experience directing digital operations and enterprise transformation processes across Latin America, with a focus on strategic planning, innovation, customer experience, and business transformation.

The appointments come as Grupo Éxito continues reorganizing its senior leadership following the January 2024 acquisition of a controlling stake by Salvadoran conglomerate Grupo Calleja, which now holds approximately 86.84% of the company. The retailer operates stores under multiple banners in Colombia, Uruguay, and Argentina, including Éxito, Carulla, Surtimax, Super Inter, Surtimayorista, Devoto, and Disco, among others.

According to the company, the two appointments are intended to reinforce capabilities in commercial management, innovation, customer intelligence, and technological evolution — areas the company has identified as central to strengthening its regional position and generating greater operational synergies across the markets where it operates.

Grupo Éxito, formally known as Almacenes Éxito S.A., completed the process of delisting its American Depositary Shares from the New York Stock Exchange and deregistering from US securities reporting obligations in early 2026. The company’s shares continue to trade on the Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia) under the ticker symbol EXITO, which remains its primary market.

Image courtesy Grupo Éxito