Albertsons Cos. names Juliette Pryor as general counsel

Next month, Cox Enterprises executive Juliette Pryor is slated to join Albertsons Cos. As executive vice president and general counsel, succeeding Bob Gordon, who is retiring.

Plans call for Pryor, currently senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at the Cox Enterprises conglomerate, to start at Albertsons on June 15, the Boise, Idaho-based grocer said Monday.

At Albertsons, Pryor (left) will lead the corporate governance and compliance functions as well as matters related to financial reporting, mergers and acquisitions, labor and employment, real estate, litigation, data privacy and government affairs. (Pryor photo courtesy of Cox Enterprises.)

“In this unprecedented time, Albertsons is demonstrating how foundational the grocery industry is in keeping America going,” Pryor said in a statement. “I have always respected the company’s commitment to providing exceptional service to its customers and communities, as it has grown its business substantially. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help in managing through this period and delivering success into the future.”

Pryor has served in her current role at Cox since October 2016. Prior to that, she spent more than 11 years at foodservice distributor US Foods, most recently as executive VP, general counsel and chief compliance officer.

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Before joining US Foods, Pryor served as counsel at law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, general counsel and corporate secretary at telecom e.spire Communications and, earlier in her career, legal adviser to the vice chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and in-house counsel at IBM.

“We are excited to welcome Juliette to our leadership team,” Albertsons President and CEO Vivek Sankaran stated. “Juliette brings a solution-oriented mindset to legal matters and her proactive, collaborative approach reflects the way the Albertsons team works. We look forward to benefitting from her extensive experience and deep legal expertise.” 

Albertsons said Gordon will transition to retirement after more than 20 years at Safeway and Albertsons. Gordon, who came to Safeway from Pillsbury Winthrop in 1999, previously served as the Chief Governance Officer and General Counsel of Safeway Inc.

Gordon (left) has served as Albertsons Cos.’ executive VP, general counsel and corporate secretary since January 2015, when Albertsons and Safeway completed their merger. Previously, he was the chief governance officer and general counsel of Safeway, a role he held since June 2000. He joined Safeway in May 1999 as deputy general counsel. Before coming to the company was a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop from 1984 to 1999.

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“On behalf of our team and the board of directors, I sincerely thank Bob for his contributions to the formative years of Albertsons Cos. since the merger in 2015, and for guiding Safeway’s legal team for 15 years prior to that,” Sankaran commented. “Bob has been a tremendous asset to our team, and we wish him well.”