MILAN, Ill. -- Eagle Food Centers here said last week Jeffrey Little will join the company Jan. 31 as president and chief executive officer.
itles of president and CEO at the end of 1999, when his employment contract expired. However, he declined to reveal his plans past June 2000, when his term as chairman will expire.
Kelly has held the top spot at Eagle since 1995, following a 33-year career with Vons Cos., Arcadia, Calif. (now a division of Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif.).
Little has been working on special assignment for Fleming Cos., Oklahoma City, since June, with responsibilities for helping the company execute strategic initiatives to remove nonvalue-added costs from the distribution system.
He joined Fleming in early 1998 as vice president, marketing, for the company's retail group and headed Fleming's ABCO Desert Markets division as president from March 1998 until last June.
Before coming to Fleming Little was senior vice president, operations, for Haggen, Inc., Bellingham, Wash., after spending 21 years with Kroger Co., Cincinnati, in various merchandising and operations positions.
Eagle operates 88 stores in northern and central Illinois, eastern Iowa and northwestern Indiana. Its sales have been negatively impacted for the last several years by competitive openings.
In a prepared statement Kelly said Little's "broad background with target marketing and his history of generating sales will be a definite asset to Eagle Foods. I look forward to working with Jeff."
