MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu Inc. has named new presidents for three of its divisions. Dan Sanders will head the Albertsons business in Southern California, Keith Wyche will lead Acme, and Brian Audette will take the helm at Cub Foods.
Supervalu Inc. has named new presidents for three of its divisions. Dan Sanders will head the Albertsons business in Southern California, Keith Wyche will lead Acme, and Brian Audette will take the helm at Cub Foods.
The moves follow the planned departure of Sue Klug, president of the Albertsons Southern California division, who has announced that she will be leaving the company this month.
"Sue has been a champion of diversity and environmental stewardship for the company, and she has been honored within the industry and community for these efforts," said Pete Van Helden, executive vice president of retail operations at Supervalu. "We thank Sue for her years of service and leadership in Southern California and wish her well as she moves on to dedicate her talent and attention to longtime personal and professional ambitions."
Replacing Klug will be Sanders, who has been serving as president of Supervalu’s Philadelphia-based Acme Markets division. Sanders joined Acme in 2010 and led the division as it embarked on a large-scale effort to lower prices, improve sales and profitability, refocus customer service efforts and enhance shopper satisfaction, the company says. Sanders came to Acme from United Supermarkets in Lubbock, Texas, where he served as the chief executive officer for six years. During his time with United, Sanders served on the board of directors at the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC).
Wyche will become the new president at Acme. He currently serves as the president of Supervalu’s Cub Foods division, a full-service retail and pharmacy chain with 67 stores in Minnesota and Illinois. Wyche is credited with improving sales trends and profitability at Acme since joining the company in 2010. Before that he was president of U.S. operations for Pitney Bowes’ Pitney Management Services division.
Audette will take over for Wyche as president of Cub Foods. Audette joined Supervalu in 1991 and most recently served as group vice president of merchandising transformation and process improvement. Audette’s work has given him in-depth exposure to both the retail and wholesale areas of the business, and his knowledge of the needs of independent retailers will provide a strong foundation for his new role with Cub’s franchise owners, according to Van Helden, who says that all three executives "embody the entrepreneurial spirit" that is at the core of Supervalu’s hyperlocal strategy.
"Coupled with their combined experience in the industry and their working knowledge of Supervalu’s strategy and operations, I believe they are ideally suited for their new responsibilities," Van Helden said. "I have full confidence in their abilities to lead their new teams to achieve our sales, profitability and growth objectives."
