Southeastern Grocers names Hucker permanent CEO

Southeastern Grocers LLC (SEG) appointed Anthony Hucker president and CEO on Thursday, effective immediately.

Hucker has been serving as the interim president and CEO of the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company since July 1. He stepped in after Ian McLeod left the retailer to pursue other interests.

"We are pleased to welcome Anthony as CEO of Southeastern Grocers as he was always part of our succession plan," the company said in a statement.

"He has played an integral role in our successful transformation over the last 18 months and we are positive he is the right leader to guide SEG. Anthony brings significant industry expertise, and we are confident that he will continue to improve the business to the benefit of our dedicated customers across the Southeast."

At the end of his first month as interim CEO, Hucker expressed optimism for the company’s future and declared that it had made “substantial progress” on a transformation plan that had been launched by the outgoing McLeod.

Under McLeod’s and Hucker’s leadership, 2017 has seen banner changes at several SEG-owned stores, management restructuring and closures.

"I'm grateful to our leadership team for the smooth transition over the past six weeks and I'm excited for the opportunity to continue to drive the strategic direction of the company. I'm humbled and honored to lead our team of more than 50,000 associates who are our greatest assets, putting our customers first, always," Hucker said in the statement. "Over the past two years, we've made substantial progress in our transformation, and we're ready to push forward."  

Hucker previously served as president and chief operating officer of Schnuck Markets Inc., a St. Louis-based food retailer.

He has also served as president of Washington, D.C.’s Giant Food LLC and held multiple leadership roles at Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

SEG currently employs more than 50,000 associates across multiple banners such as BI-LO, Win-Dixie and Harveys.

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Twitter: @DanAMX