Sanders Joins Acme as President 2010-03-29

Dan Sanders

PHILADELPHIA — Acme Markets here has named Dan Sanders president of the 124-store chain, parent company Supervalu, Minneapolis, said last week. Sanders most recently was chief executive officer of United Supermarkets, Lubbock, Texas. At Acme, he succeeds Judith Spires, who had resigned from Acme effective March 12 and this week was named CEO of Kings Super Markets in Parsippany, N.J. Sanders had recently resigned from family-owned United Supermarkets. Before being named CEO at United, Sanders had been the chief marketing officer, and, earlier in his career, had been director of human resources and advertising. In addition, he has authored two books on leadership, both published by McGraw-Hill. “I appreciate Acme's long-standing history serving customers and being an active supporter of the communities it serves,” said Sanders, in a prepared statement. “I look forward to being a part of that tradition and doing all that we can to meet the needs — and exceed the expectations — of our customers.”

SPIRES NAMED PRESIDENT, CEO AT KINGS

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Judy Spires, the longtime Acme executive who recently left that Philadelphia-area chain, has been named president and chief executive officer of Kings Super Markets, based here, Kings said last week. She succeeds Bruce Weitz, who decided to leave Kings to pursue other interests, the company said. He retains an ownership stake in the 25-store chain, which operates in New Jersey and New York. “Judy Spires is a seasoned food retail executive with an impressive track record of success in virtually every area of the store and management,” said Jim Demme, chairman of Kings, in a prepared statement. “I am excited to join Kings and work with the entire team to continue to grow the company,” added Spires. Acme, owned by Minneapolis-based Supervalu, had reported earlier this month that Spires was leaving the president's post there to join another firm. The Washington, D.C., office of Preston-Reffett Executive Search led the search for Kings.

MARKETING SVP MACLEOD LEAVES A&P

MONTVALE, N.J. — Jennifer MacLeod has left A&P here as senior vice president, marketing and communications, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. In the filing, A&P said the company and MacLeod had “mutually agreed” that she would leave to pursue other opportunities. MacLeod joined A&P in 2005 and was responsible for marketing; advertising and promotion; internal communications; and public affairs, including media, community and government relations. Before joining A&P, she was vice president of marketing and public relations for Co-op Atlantic, a retailer based in New Brunswick, Canada. Tom Dahlen, an operating partner at A&P investor Yucaipa, and Rebecca Philbert, senior vice president, merchandising and supply & logistics, A&P, will oversee A&P's marketing function on an interim basis, a spokeswoman for A&P told SN.

SAFEWAY'S HAUBERT JOINS TECH FIRM

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — VideoMining here, a provider of in-store intelligence for shopper marketing, said last week that former Safeway executive David Haubert has joined the company as vice president of business development. Haubert will work with existing retailer customers, such as Safeway, and seek to establish new partnerships with CPG companies. Haubert joins VideoMining from the marketing strategies team at Safeway where he was director of manufacturer collaboration.