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UNFI taps Coca-Cola’s Louis Martin to lead strategy

Grocery distributor creates new post of chief strategy and transformation officer

Russell Redman

March 8, 2022

2 Min Read
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Louis Martin, who currently serves as president of Coca-Cola's global Walmart customer team, is slated to start at United Natural Foods Inc. on March 21.UNFI

Coca-Cola Co. executive Louis Martin is joining United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) as chief strategy and transformation officer, a newly created role.

UNFI said Tuesday that Martin, who is slated to start on March 21, will oversee of the grocery distributor’s long-term growth strategy and report directly to CEO Sandy Douglas. A 15-year veteran of Coca-Cola, Martin currently serves as president of the global Walmart customer team at the beverage giant.

“As we execute and evolve our ‘Fuel the Future’ strategy, we are committed to building on both existing and new business platforms to deliver long-term, sustainable growth. The creation of this new role reflects our confidence in the value UNFI is positioned to generate across our entire ecosystem, including customers, suppliers, partners, and investors,” Douglas said in a statement. “Louis is a seasoned leader, with both a strategic and an operations background. His addition to our team will help drive UNFI’s next chapter of growth.”

Louis Martin-UNFI.jpgUnder a new leadership structure, Martin (pictured left) will direct UNFI’s revenue management, mergers and acquisitions, continuous improvement and project management office, as well as partner to drive Fuel the Future efforts via new supply chain, technology and data standardization capabilities and automation acceleration, the company said.

Related:UNFI hires Matt Echols as corporate affairs chief

Meanwhile, Matt Whitney will now serve as chief growth officer, with responsibility for key UNFI growth platforms such as professional services, e-commerce and emerging business units. In May, Whitney had been promoted to the role of chief strategy and innovation officer.

During his tenure at Coca-Cola, Martin held positions ranging from strategic initiatives, in which he led the post-acquisition integration of the Glaceau beverage business, to investor relations. Before leading the global Walmart customer team, he served as senior vice president of system evolution for Coca-Cola North America, where he guided the refranchising and transformation efforts of Coca-Cola’s North American bottling, distribution and supply chain businesses. He came to Coca-Cola after working at McKinsey & Co. from 2002 to 2007, where he led strategic and operational transformation initiatives across the globe.

“I am excited to join UNFI and play a role in accelerating the many growth opportunities ahead,” Martin commented. “I look forward to engaging with the talented UNFI team as we build new capabilities to enhance our customer experience.”

Martin represents the second Coca-Cola executive to join UNFI this month. On March 1, 23-year Coca-Cola veteran Matt Echols joined UNFI as chief corporate affairs officer, another newly created position.

Related:UNFI names Matt Whitney chief strategy and innovation officer

North America’s largest publicly traded grocery distributor, UNFI operates nearly 50 distribution centers and supplies more than 30,000 retailers in the United States and Canada, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce retailers and foodservice providers.

 

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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