Albertsons Cos. Names Sharon McCollam President, CFO; News Sends Stock Soaring

In its latest strategic move designed to accelerate its transformation, Albertsons Cos. has tapped Sharon McCollam as president and CFO, reporting to CEO Vivek Sankaran. McCollam will succeed Bob Dimond, who is retiring, but will remain with the company as an adviser through February 2022 to “ensure a seamless transition,” the Boise, Idaho-based company said. 

Broadly recognized as the co-pilot of Best Buy’s Renew Blue transformation, which has been regarded as one of the foremost omnichannel transformations in the retail sector, McCollam, 59, retired from Best Buy in 2016, where she was EVP, chief administrative officer and CFO.

Prior to Best Buy, McCollam held several transformational leadership positions at Williams-Sonoma Inc. from 2000 to 2012, including COO and CFO from 2006 to 2012. Since retiring from Best Buy, McCollam has been a member of several corporate boards, including companies with a strong consumer, e-commerce and healthcare presence.

Sharon McCollam

Following the announcement that McCollam had joined Albertsons' executive team, the company’s stock was up nearly 14% as of 11 a.m. EDT.

As president and CFO of Albertsons Cos., McCollam will assume several leadership responsibilities, including finance, corporate strategy, information technology, supply chain operations and property development, and will be involved in all aspects of the company’s growth and transformation strategy. In addition to her proven financial leadership, McCollam brings broad retail and omnichannel operational expertise that will help accelerate the achievement of Albertsons' goals, the company said.

“I am thrilled to have Sharon join the Albertsons team,” said Sankaran in a statement. “We are entering the next phase of our transformation, centered on building deeper relationships with customers through data, technology and connected omnichannel solutions. Sharon has done just this throughout her career, helping to engineer multiple retail transformations, including the spectacular turnaround of Best Buy and the digital transformation at Williams-Sonoma. Sharon is well-known for her expertise in retail operations and digital growth strategies as well as her passion for building customer-centric cultures. I look forward to working closely with her to architect the evolution of our strategy and create value for all of our stakeholders.”

Sankaran added, “I would like to thank Bob Dimond for his contributions to Albertsons Cos. over the past seven years. He has established a strong foundation for our finance team and was extremely instrumental in our IPO. Bob helped us deliver consistent financial results, improve our balance sheet, and elevate the level of investment in our business. We wish him the very best in his retirement.”

“I am thrilled to be joining Vivek and the Albertsons leadership team during this exciting time in the company’s history,” said McCollam. “Albertsons Cos. is a family of iconic brands that empowers and values its people, obsesses over exceeding the expectations of its customers, communities and associates, and operates at the highest levels of humility and integrity in everything it does. It is thriving because its culture is built on values that its people and communities cherish and want to protect.

“It is a privilege to be joining this incredibly high-performing team and to be stepping back into such an exceptional opportunity that will allow me to leverage my broad multi-brand, multichannel and transformation experience as well as participate in one of the most exciting customer-centric digital transformations in integrated grocery and pharmacy today,” she continued. “I could not be more excited to take on this challenge and create the kind of change that will inspire our associates, our customers, and our shareholders.”