Former Cub Foods CEO will serve as Wakerfern’s next president

The former CEO of Cub Foods, Mike Stigers, will assume the role of president at Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the U.S.

Stigers will take over as president effective June 1.

The Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern has member companies that own and operate supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Gourmet Garage, and Fairway Market banners, among others. 

Stigers will join Wakefern as president and report to Wakefern’s board of directors. Current president Joe Sheridan, who announced his retirement last year, will remain with the company through the end of the calendar year to ensure a successful transition. 

Sheridan’s departure caps off a successful 47-year career with the cooperative, including the past 11 years as president.
 
Wakefern’s Chairman Joe Colalillo said, “Mike brings with him five decades of industry leadership, proven success and respect among his peers and the supplier community. Wakefern will benefit from that broad knowledge base and leadership experience.”
 
Stigers brings with him five decades of industry experience and a track record in both retail and wholesale. 

Since 2019, he has served as CEO of Minnesota-based Cub Foods, a subsidiary of UNFI, the natural and organic food company headquartered in Rhode Island. Prior to that, he spent eight years at SuperValu, beginning in 2011 as the president of Shaw’s/Star Market in New England. 

In 2013, he went on to lead SuperValu’s northern wholesale region and then in 2014, he was named president of Cub Foods. In 2016, he was promoted to the position of executive vice president, SuperValu Wholesale and Supply Chain Services, and held that role until it was acquired by UNFI in 2018.
 
Stigers’ first job was as a part-time courtesy clerk at Safeway in his home state of California. 

Stigers is also active in industry trade associations, having served as the past president of Western Association of Food Chains. He is the immediate past chair of the National Grocers Association (NGA), having served as the chair of the organization from 2020-2021.