Hy-Vee’s Jay Marshall Named Vice Chairman

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee has named 38-year veteran Jay Marshall vice chairman. He will assist President and CEO Randy Edeker and the board of directors with leading the company. Marshall, who most recently was EVP, co-chief operating officer and president of Hy-Vee subsidiaries/commissaries, will continue to oversee the operations of the company’s supply chain and subsidiaries. EVP Jeremy Gosch will continue to serve as COO.

Jay Marshall

“While Jay will oversee key areas of our company, he will also work on the larger challenges facing the retail industry today,” Edeker said. “Jay has worked in and led virtually every area of Hy-Vee throughout his career, and he is a great and trusted leader. I am confident that he will do an excellent job in this new role.”

Jeremy Gosch

New Chief Merchant

Hy-Vee has also named Darren Baty chief merchandising officer, succeeding Brett Bremser, who retired Jan. 1 after 35 years with the company.

Darren Baty

Bremser started with Hy-Vee in 1981 as a part-time clerk at a Hy-Vee in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and spent several years in various management positions at Hy-Vee stores in the Omaha, Neb., area. He received his first Hy-Vee store director assignment in 2002 at the Overland Park South Hy-Vee in Kansas. In 2005, he was selected to lead the Perry, Iowa, store, and in 2007, he became director of the Urbandale, Iowa, Hy-Vee store. He served on the Hy-Vee board of directors in 2008 before becoming an officer of the company as assistant vice president of advertising in 2010. In 2012, he became vice president of center store and the following year, added overseeing general merchandise, HBC and fuel operations. In 2013, he was promoted to senior vice president of merchandising. Bremser was named senior vice president of Hy-Vee's western region in 2014, and in 2015, he was promoted to executive vice president of the western region. He moved into the role of executive vice president of perishables in 2016 and was promoted to his current position of chief merchandising officer in 2017.

Brett Bremster

“To say that Brett has been an integral part of our company is an understatement,” Edeker said. “Brett is one of the hardest working and most dedicated people Hy-Vee has ever seen. I wish Brett and his family all the best in his retirement.”

Baty, who was promoted to EVP and chief merchandising officer, will oversee merchandising as well as other areas of the company, such as health and beauty, floral, procurement and advertising.

Craig Clasen, Hy-Vee’s SVP of retail business development, also retired on Jan. 1. Clasen oversaw several vendor and supplier relationships while also vetting new and innovative products and companies, Hy-Vee said.