SUPERVALU TAPS AIRLINE EXECUTIVE AS FIRST CMO
MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu last week said it has named Susan E. Parker to the newly created position of senior vice president and chief marketing officer, effective today. She will be responsible for brand positioning and marketing strategy for the company's supermarket banners, including Albertsons and Supervalu's regional chains, and will report to Duncan Mac Naughton, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing. She will also provide marketing support for Supervalu's independent customers. Parker, 48, most recently was senior director of marketing at Southwest Airlines, where she worked for the past 16 years. Prior to joining Southwest, Parker was a merchandise manager for Joske's department stores, now owned by Dillard's.
PENN TRAFFIC ACTING CFO MARTIN RESIGNS
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Penn Traffic said last week that Randy P. Martin has resigned as senior vice president of finance at the chain, effective last Friday, to pursue other interests. Ben Jones, managing director at Conway, Del Genio, Gries & Co., which has been providing financial consulting services for Penn Traffic since October, will serve as interim chief financial officer, Penn Traffic said. Martin had been acting CFO since the March 2005 departure of Robert Dimond, who left to join Wild Oats and is now the CFO at Nash Finch. Martin is the third CFO to leave Penn Traffic in the last four years.
FOOD LION PROMOTES DAVIS TO VP-STRATEGY
SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion here said last week it has promoted Charles Davis to vice president of business strategy and analytics. Davis most recently was Food Lion's director of pricing. He joined Food Lion in 2004 as director of business strategy and analytics, where he was instrumental in the company's customer segmentation work. Davis will report to Mike Haaf, senior vice president of sales, marketing and business strategy.
BJ'S NAMES GALLAGHER EVP, STORE OPERATIONS
NATICK, Mass. — Thomas Gallagher has been promoted to executive vice president of store operations of BJ's Wholesale Club here, the retailer said last week. Gallagher, who will report directly to Herb Zarkin, chairman and interim chief executive officer, was formerly vice president of operations for BJ's. The promotion of Gallagher follows the November departure of Michael T. Wedge as president and CEO.
FORMER MARSH PRESIDENT JOINS CRYSTAL FLASH
INDIANAPOLIS — David Marsh, the former president of Marsh Supermarkets here, has joined local convenience store operator Crystal Flash as president, a spokeswoman for the family-owned c-store chain told SN. Marsh left his family's supermarket chain last year amid a management shakeup before the eventual sale of the company. He had been president at Marsh, which is now owned by private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners, Boca Raton, Fla., until last February. Two other former Marsh executives have joined him at Crystal Flash: Jeff Somers, vice president of operations, and Andy Batt, vice president of information technology and merchandising.
GAST LEAVES RALPHS TO JOIN REAL ESTATE FIRM
PHOENIX — De Rito Partners, a commercial real estate development company here, said Tom Gast, former senior vice president of Ralphs Grocery Co., has been named president and partner of De Rito Partners West in Anaheim Hills, Calif. De Rito said it established the new partnership in California to enable the company to expand into California and Nevada. In his new position Gast will pursue retail opportunities in those states, including ground-up shopping center development and acquisition of existing properties. At Ralphs, Gast was responsible for overseeing new and existing store development projects in California and Nevada for Ralphs and Food 4 Less. He started his career in 1979 in the accounting department at Alpha Beta Co. and had been a senior vice president at Ralphs since 2003.
