Cerberus CEO leaves Albertsons board for top Department of Defense postCerberus CEO leaves Albertsons board for top Department of Defense post

Albertsons announced Friday that Stephen Feinberg, CEO of alternative investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, which owns the grocery chain, is stepping down from the Albertsons Board of Directors following his nomination to serve as deputy secretary of defense. 

Feinberg’s nomination by President Donald Trump to serve as the No. 2 official at the Department of Defense thrusts the co-founder of Cerberus into the spotlight. 

Feinberg, who was replaced on the Albertsons board by Cerberus Co-CEO Frank Bruno, is a co-founder of Cerberus, which currently has $65 billion in assets under management and operates a wide range of investments and asset classes, including private equity, private credit, real estate, and paramilitary groups. 

Feinberg has been a major donor to President Trump’s reelection bid, donating millions to Trump-backed political action committees and candidates over the last decade. 

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, it will be Feinberg’s second tour of duty in the Trump administration. Feinberg previously served as head of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board during the first Trump administration. He was appointed to that position in 2018.

On Tuesday, Feinberg will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he is expected to face tough questions from Democrats—particularly Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has already questioned his qualifications for the role and the potential for conflicts of interest.

A spokesperson for Cerberus could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Warren sent Feinberg a letter on Feb. 17 that scrutinizes his nomination on a number of fronts but also accuses him and Cerberus of mismanaging its ownership of Albertsons. 

“I have serious concerns about your qualifications and ability to take on the responsibilities of the role. You have serious conflicts of interest, with holdings in seven companies that do nearly $16 billion in business with the Defense Department. Your private equity record is rife with mismanagement, and this position ‘will be the first time in [your] life where [you’re] focused on something broader than profitability,’” Warren said in the letter. 

She also focused on Cerberus’ 2006 purchase of Albertsons for $350 million and its failed merger with Kroger, which was rejected by two courts in 2024. Warren said Cerberus “loaded Albertsons with debt,” a move that caused the grocery chain’s debt-to-earnings ratio to jump to “more than twice most of its competitors.”

“In 2020, you finally took Albertsons public with an evaluation of $9.3 billion, which excluded the ‘$8.5 billion debt pile’ you racked up for the company,” Warren said in the letter. 

She also noted that Cerberus was set to gain $5 billion through the acquisition deal “and promised a ‘$4 billion dividend payout to its investors shortly after the merger announcement… with $1 billion directed to Cerberus.’”

Warren added that the dividend recapitalization move allowed Cerberus to borrow against the grocery chain to pay cash dividends to Cerberus before the transaction was complete “drain[ing] much of Albertsons’ liquidity and saddl[ing] the company with an additional $1.5 billion in debt.”