Tokyo (Reuters)-Seven & I Holdings, owner of the 7-Eleven local stores, is finalizing a plan that will see the departure of Ryuichi Isaka, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and his replacement by the first foreign leader to take the head of the Japanese group, according to two sources close to the file.

Ryuichi Isaka will resign and his replacement will most likely be the director Stephen Dacus, said the sources that requested anonymity due to the significant nature of the case.

The Japanese daily Nikkei reported information for the first time on Monday.

Stephen Dacus, an external administrator since 2022, directs a special committee responsible for assessing the public purchasing offer of the Canadian Coard-Tard Food Food, for $ 47 billion, as well as a privatization offer launched by the founding family of Seven & I and finally abandoned.

Seven & I will bring together its board of directors on Thursday to finalize the plan, said one of the sources.

According to a press release from Seven & I, the information disseminated by the media about its management does not come from the company, and no decision has been made.

Stephen Dacus managed Seiyu Holdings and occupied posts at Fast Retailing and Food & Life Companies.

“As an external administrator, he knows the discussions that we have had so far (on the proposal to take over the Talo-Tard),” said one of the sources, adding that he was best placed to accelerate Seven & I growth strategy abroad.

According to Nikkei, Stephen Dacus will be replaced at the head of the special committee by another external administrator, Paul Yonamine.

(Ritsuko Shimizu report, with the contribution of Rocky Swift and Kaori Kaneko, Elena Smirnova, edited by Augustin Turpin)

Copyright © 2025 Thomson Reuters