Wedge Resigns as BJ's President, CEO

NATICK, Mass. - BJ‘s Wholesale Club last week said Mike Wedge has resigned as president and chief executive officer of the 171-unit club-store operator, based here. Wedge, 53, had been the top executive at BJ‘s since September 2002 and had been with the chain since 1997. The company‘s chairman, Herb Zarkin, who served as CEO of BJ‘s former parent company, Waban, from 1993 to 1997, was named interim CEO as the board of directors searches for a successor to Wedge. In a joint statement attributed to both Wedge and Zarkin, they said, “While the company has made great strides in its efforts to improve general merchandise sales and customer traffic, overall progress had not come as quickly as we had hoped and expected. We agree that the company‘s leadership team will benefit from a fresh perspective at this time.” Zarkin, who had planned to retire at the company‘s 2007 annual meeting in May, said he will stand for re-election instead.