Grocery Outlet Shakes Up Leadership With New Position

Looking to scale its business for future growth, Emeryville, Calif.-based discounter Grocery Outlet announced Dec. 15 that Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Pamela Burke will assume the newly created position of chief stores officer, effective Jan. 1

Burke, who will report to president R.J. Sheedy, “has deep experience with the company’s independent operator model and understands the importance of promoting independent operator autonomy,” the hard discounter said in a release. 

Grocery Outlet CEO Eric Lindberg praised Burke’s job “leading several business functions and coordinating support to our independent operators” and said he is looking forward to what she will accomplish in her new role.

The company also noted that Heather Mayo, chief sales and merchandising officer, East, made the decision to leave Grocery Outlet in early March 2022 and that she “will be transitioning her responsibilities to functional leaders at the local and corporate level.” Lindberg thanked Mayo for her efforts at Grocery Outlet and wished her “the best in her future endeavors."

Marking its 75th birthday this year, the company said in a statement that it “will continue to support regional autonomy, ownership and decision-making via localized resources across several business functions, including purchasing and new store development.”

In a statement, Lindberg said, “2021 marks Grocery Outlet’s 75th year in business and at the heart of our success has been the knowledge, skill and autonomy of our independent operators. As we look ahead towards our next 75 years of growth, this new organizational structure allows us to more effectively support our operators in growing their businesses while facilitating local decision-making and independent operator independence.”

Grocery Outlet has more than 410 stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Nevada.