De la Fuente Joins Farm Fresh

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Farm Fresh here said last week that it has named Gaelo de la Fuente president of the 45-store chain, effective immediately. He most recently was group vice president of retail operations support for Minneapolis-based Supervalu, the parent company of Farm Fresh. He succeeds Ron Dennis, who retired March 5. Before joining Supervalu, de la Fuente was vice president of retail operations for the Atlantic Division of Food Lion, and before that he spent several years with Hannaford Bros., a sister chain of Food Lion under Delhaize Group. “Farm Fresh has a rich tradition of serving customers and giving back to the community,” said de la Fuente, in a prepared statement. “I look forward to continuing that tradition and working hard to meet our shoppers' needs.”

ACME PRESIDENT SPIRES RESIGNS

PHILADELPHIA — Judith A. Spires has resigned as president of Supervalu's Acme chain to accept a position with another company, Supervalu said last week. Spires had spent most of her 40-year grocery career at Acme, but before she was named president of the chain in 2006 she also served stints as president of Albertsons' Rocky Mountain and Dallas-Fort Worth divisions. Pete Van Helden, executive vice president of retail operations for Minneapolis-based Supervalu, will assume Spires' responsibilities on an interim basis. “I will miss working with the many dedicated and talented people at Acme and wish the team the very best as they continue to work hard to grow the business,” Spires said in a prepared release. She is the latest in a series of high-level executives to exit Supervalu in recent months, including Steve Kaczynski, the former president of Bigg's in Cincinnati, and Ron Dennis, the former president of Farm Fresh in Virginia. Supervalu named successors for both men.

GUTMAN NAMED DIRECTOR OF REIT

CLIFTON, N.J. — Longtime Pathmark Stores executive Harvey Gutman has joined ARC Property Trust, a new real estate investment trust sponsored by ARC Properties here, as a director. Gutman left Pathmark as senior vice president of retail development in 2006 after a 30-year career to become founder and president of Brookside Advisors, a real estate consulting company serving retailers, private equity firms and real estate development companies.