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NEW YORK (AP) — Office Depot CEO Roland Smith will retire next year after a replacement is found.
The office supplies retailer also said Monday that it is reorganizing its executive committee to bring its retail store, e-commerce and marketing operations together. Troy Rice, who is currently executive vice president, was named to the newly-created position of chief operating officer.
Smith's retirement comes three months after rival Staples dropped its $6.3 billion buyout of Office Depot. The deal was blocked by a federal judge who ruled that the deal would throttle competition. Staples Inc. CEO Ron Sargent stepped down in June, and a permanent replacement has not been named.
Office Depot said it expects to have a replacement for Smith at the end of the first quarter of 2017.
Smith, who is 62 years old, was named CEO less than three years ago, shortly after the company bought rival OfficeMax. Previously, Smith was CEO of Delhaize America, which operated supermarket chains Food Lion and Hannaford.
Office Depot Inc., based in Boca Raton, Florida has about 1,800 stores.
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