EXECUTIVE CHANGES 2008-04-28

FOOTE OUT, LEIGHTON IN AS LOBLAW PRESIDENT

TORONTO — Mark Foote, the veteran Canadian merchant brought in to help Loblaw Cos. pull out of a rut two years ago, left his role as president and chief merchandising officer of the company effective last Monday as Alan Leighton, the former Asda executive who'd been serving as deputy chairman, was named president, the company here said. Also, Loblaw said William Wells, its chief financial officer, is leaving the company, as is vice president of food, Petro Satriano. Loblaw last month denied an analyst report that suggested the company's leadership triumvirate of Foote, Executive Chairman Galen G. Weston and Leighton could be dissolved as the company struggled to execute a turnaround. “[We] require more focus and clarity in our leadership structure. These changes will provide this,” Leighton said in a statement. Bob Vaux, CFO of Loblaw's parent company, George Weston Ltd., will serve as Loblaw's CFO until further notice. Frank Rocchetti, executive vice president of general merchandise, succeeds Foote as chief merchandising officer.

KROGER CREATES NEW MULTICULTURAL POSITION

CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. said it has named Angel Colon to lead multicultural business development. In his new position, Colon will be responsible for enhancing Kroger's approach to serving its diverse customer base. He brings 16 years of experience in the CPG industry to his new position with Kroger. He previously held leadership positions in sales and ethnic marketing at Goya Foods and the Kellogg Co. At Kellogg, Colon was a member of the company's ethnic marketing team and led its Hispanic and African American promotion efforts.

WINN-DIXIE NAMES CARRADO AS MARKETING VP

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Winn-Dixie Stores here announced the promotion of Jim Carrado to vice president of neighborhood marketing. In this new role, he will be responsible for executing strategies centered on Hispanic, urban and affluent clusters, and will oversee a team focusing on the company's neighborhood marketing initiative. He will continue to report directly to Dan Portnoy, senior vice president, chief merchandising and marketing officer. In his previous position as senior director of neighborhood merchandising for Winn-Dixie, Carrado created and implemented the clustering process and framework for neighborhood merchandising. Carrado worked at Ralphs Supermarkets for 14 years and later at Sutton Place Gourmet. Prior to joining Winn-Dixie in 2003, he worked for Spartan Stores.

SWEETBAY TAPS WAL-MART'S MALCOLM FOR HR

TAMPA, Fla. — Sweetbay Supermarket here, a subsidiary of Delhaize Group, announced that Lori Malcolm has been named vice president of human resources. She has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of finance, marketing, information technology and human resources management, most recently as senior director of human resources transformation at Wal-Mart Stores. Prior to working for Wal-Mart, Malcolm held various positions in marketing and recruitment for Disney Worldwide Services, Robert Half International and IBM Corp.

COSTCO'S EAGAN NAMED WAFC PRESIDENT

LOS ANGELES — The Western Association of Food Chains here said its new president is John Eagan, Garden Grove, Calif.-based vice president and senior general merchandising manager for Costco Wholesale Corp., Issaquah, Wash. Other new WAFC officers for the 2008-2009 year are Pete Van Helden, Garden Grove, Calif.-based executive vice president and president of the Retail West region of Supervalu, Minneapolis, as WAFC vice president; Mike Proulx, president and chief operating officer of Bashas' Markets, Chandler, Ariz., as treasurer; Karl Schroder, president of the Northern California division of Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., as secretary; and Sue Klug, president of the Southern California division of Albertsons, Fullerton, Calif., as education chairman.