De La Fuente Out as Farm Fresh President

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu here on Monday said that Bill Parker has been named interim president of its Farm Fresh division, succeeding Gaelo de la Fuente, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

Parker, currently Farm Fresh’s senior vice president of merchandising, will assume his new role Sept. 15.

De la Fuente became president of Farm Fresh, a 43-store chain based in Virginia Beach, Va., in April of 2010. He formerly held leadership positions at Supervalu and at Delhaize’s Hannaford and Food Lion chains.

“Gaelo has been a solid leader who has made several contributions to Farm Fresh’s success, and we wish him well,” Kevin Holt, president of Supervalu Retail, said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have someone with Bill’s extensive operation and merchandising experience that will be able to keep the business moving forward as we look to identify a replacement at Farm Fresh.”

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Parker brings more than 35 years of experience in the grocery industry to this expanded role. He has been with Farm Fresh for 14 years, holding director, vice president and senior vice president roles in both operations and merchandising over that time. Prior to that, Parker worked at the Albertsons Florida division as a district sales manager and store director for 21 years.

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