Haub: New CEO Soon to Arrive

Jon Springer

MONTVALE, N.J. — A&P's next chief executive officer should be in place by the time the retailer's new fiscal year begins in March, officials said last week.

A&P has been operating under interim CEO Christian Haub since firing Eric Claus from its top position in October. Haub is the chain's executive chairman and was CEO prior to Claus. He is a member of the Tengelmann family that has held a majority stake in the company since 1979.

In remarks in a conference call last week, Haub said A&P was looking at candidates with experience leading a public company, experience executing turnarounds, food retailing expertise and, preferably, experience operating in the Northeast.

Those descriptions could describe many of the executives with ties to Yucaipa, Ron Burkle's investment company. Yucaipa this year acquired a stake in A&P and has a history of installing its own management at its grocery investments, including a string on the West Coast in the 1980s.

Haub noted that he “reached out” to Burkle soon after assuming the CEO duties in October, and Burkle subsequently dispatched a team of executives to the company, which has worked on a plan of short-term initiatives to stabilize the business so that the next CEO has a firm foundation.