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Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: JOEL RAMPOLDT
PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIDL U.S., ARLINGTON COUNTY
Virginia Business //September 2, 2025//
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: JOEL RAMPOLDT
PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIDL U.S., ARLINGTON COUNTY
Virginia Business //September 2, 2025//
Lidl, a German discount retail grocery chain, entered the U.S. market in 2017. But it struggled to compete with its chief rival, Aldi, and Lidl has changed its U.S. CEO three times since 2018. In 2023, Rampoldt took the reins as the first American to lead Lidl’s U.S. division and its expansion.
As of July, the company operates more than 185 stores in nine states and Washington, D.C. — up from about 170 a year ago.
Rampoldt’s roots in the retail and grocery industry run deep: His first job was as a bagger at his local Kroger at age 15. After earning an MBA from Yale, he spent two decades advising leaders of U.S. and European grocery companies as a consultant at Oliver Wyman, KPMG and AlixPartners.
Lidl followed the appointment of Rampoldt by hiring four new executives and conducting layoffs in 2024. In stores, Lidl has relaunched its fresh meat and produce divisions.
In 2024, Rampoldt joined the board of directors of the Food Industry Association for a three-year term.
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