EXECUTIVE CHANGES 2007-10-15 (1)

LARKIN TO RESIGN FROM CALIFORNIA GROCERS

Sacramento, Calif. — Peter Larkin, president and chief executive officer of the California Grocers Association since mid-1996, said last week he plans to resign in December to establish his own consulting business. However, he told SN he expects to remain with the association to work with whoever is named his successor, noting that it is unlikely that a new executive will be hired by December. Reflecting on his decision to move on, Larkin, 53, told SN, “After working for someone else for 30 years, I have an interest in building a business and doing something on my own.” He said he will remain based here, because his new business will involve consulting in the public affairs arena, “encompassing government relations, communications and community affairs. And because I anticipate most clients will want me to be well connected to what's happening in the political world, there's no better way to remain connected than to stay in Sacramento.” Bill Anderson, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Raley's here and chairman of the CGA board, credited Larkin with making “great progress in restoring the reputation and financial strength of the organization, [and] CGA is a far stronger association than when [Peter] started.”

THREE RETAILERS APPOINTED TO UNIFIED BOARD

Los Angeles — Unified Grocers here said it will expand the size of its board of directors to include three retailers whose business was acquired in its recent purchase of Associated Grocers of Seattle. At a meeting of Unified's board, the board appointed Terry Halverson, president and chief executive officer of Metropolitan Market; Paul Kapioski, president and owner of CAP Food Services; and Michael S. Trask, president and owner of Stanlar Foods, to terms that extend until mid-February of 2008. Unified also said it is splitting its sales organization into two groups: corporate sales and product sales. Corporate sales, encompassing member recruitment and maintenance, will be divided into four geographic regions, each led by a general manager, a new corporate title. Randy Delgado, formerly director of sales in Southern California, has been named general manager of the Southern California region, which accounts for 37% of the new company's $4.1 billion in sales, while Bob Garibaldi, formerly director of sales in Northern California, has been named general manager of that region, which represents 20% of total sales, with additional responsibilities for overseeing the company's international export business. Frank Bussemeier, formerly director of sales for Unified's specialty foods division, has been named general manager of the Oregon region, which accounts for 20% of sales, and Mike Koens, formerly regional sales manager at AG, has been named general manager of the new Washington region, which accounts for 23% of total sales. The company said executive changes in the product sales group will be forthcoming in about a month.