Giant Food Names Irfan Badibanga as SVP of Operations

Ahold Delhaize USA’s Giant Food chain has appointed veteran operations and merchandising executive Irfan Badibanga as its new SVP of operations, effective Nov. 1.

Irfan Badibanga

Badibanga comes to Giant from Family Dollar, where he most recently was SVP of operations. He is also a veteran of Walmart, having served nearly 10 years as VP of operations and previously worked with food retailers such as Price Chopper, H-E-B and Winn-Dixie.

At Giant, the 164-store chain based in Landover, Md., Badibanga will be responsible for leading all operational aspects of Giant Food, including regional operations, store support, strategic store planning and execution, and asset protection, as well as people, team and culture development, the company said.

“Irfan has been a successful, entrepreneurial leader, driving enormous growth at some of the largest retail organizations in this country,” Ira Kress, president of Giant, said in a statement. “We are confident that his deep management and operations expertise at both the regional and national level will bring tremendous value to our organization at a time when we are implementing a transformational brand strategy and evolving our culture.”

Badibanga steps into a role previously held by Kress, who was named president of Giant earlier this year. The retailer described him as possessing “a strong track record of transforming corporate objectives into bottom-line growth for supermarket, small and big-box retailers.”

Badibanga began his grocery retail career as a bagger and by the age of 24, he was appointed to district manager at Winn-Dixie. He moved through the ranks at a variety of supermarket chains, building his expertise in store management, merchandising, operations, omni-channel delivery, asset protection, HR and general management.

“I am thrilled to be joining Giant Food, which has over 84 years’ experience serving the community, and am looking forward to the opportunity to work with Giant associates who are passionate about serving their customers and helping their community," Badibanga said in a statement. “Consumer preferences are shifting, and at Giant, product excellence, convenience, and value are key. I believe my work experience has prepared me well, and I am excited to join the Giant team as we continue to implement brand and operational strategies to serve our customers best.”