Dollar Tree Promotes Mike Witynski to CEO

Dollar Tree Inc. has appointed grocery industry veteran Michael Witynski as its new president and CEO, succeeding the retiring Gary Philbin as part of a planned transition, the Chesapeake, Va.-based parent of the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores said.

Mike Witynski

Witynski had been enterprise president of the company since late last year, leading merchandising, store operations and supply chains. He joined Dollar tree in 2010 as SVP of stores following more than 20 years with the grocery wholesaler Supervalu, including a stint as president of the Shaw’s Supermarkets banner when it was controlled by Supervalu. Witynski also held roles as Supervalu’s executive VP of merchandising and markets and group VP of private brands. He also spent five years as Cub Foods’ VP of merchandising and marketing.

Philbin joined Dollar Tree in 2001 and became CEO in 2007, succeeding its current executive chairman, Bob Sasser. His tenure included an at-times difficult integration of Dollar Tree with the multi-price point acquired banner Family Dollar Stores. He was deeply involved in the evolution of the Dollar Tree store format, working with the Family Dollar team to create the new H2 format, the company said.

The company said Philbin would remain with the company as an executive and member of the board of directors through Sept. 23.

“The board and I are grateful to Gary Philbin for his steadfast commitment and tireless efforts over nearly two decades to help make Dollar Tree the company it is today," Sasser said. "Gary’s leadership as CEO brought our banners together as one company in Chesapeake. Through his efforts, we have a succession plan in place to ensure the smoothest possible leadership transition. On behalf of the board, his colleagues and our associates, we thank Gary and wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Witynski is a “proven leader,” Sasser added.

“Under Mike’s leadership, we have driven outstanding performance—first at Dollar Tree and most recently at Family Dollar,” he said. “He helped put in place a broad range of operational and talent initiatives to position our company for an even more successful future, as witnessed by the recent successes at Family Dollar.”

Witynski stated, “I am honored to take on this new role and excited about Dollar Tree’s opportunities to drive even more value for our customers and shareholders. We have great momentum; our sales and margins are encouraging; our work to improve the customer experience is driving traffic; and we are now capturing more of the benefits inherent in bringing the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar management teams together under one roof. It has been a privilege to work with Gary, and I wish him the best for the future.”

Dollar Tree operated 15,370 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of May 2. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada.