FUTTERMAN RETIRES FROM PATHMARK POSTS

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

WOODBRIDGE, N.J. -- Jack Futterman, chairman and chief executive officer of Pathmark Stores and its parent, Supermarkets General Holdings Corp., here, retired last week after 23 years with the company.

Futterman, 62, will remain as a consultant to Pathmark. Named to serve as chairman and CEO on an interim basis was John Boyle, 67, a Pathmark board member and the former vice chairman of Eckerd Corp., Largo, Fla.

According to a Pathmark executive, the company expects to name a successor "later this year, and probably a lot sooner."

"It's a wide search and includes internal and external candidates," the executive said. He declined to disclose names of potential candidates.

However, observers told SN that Futterman's successor is likely to come from outside the company. It was unclear last week why Anthony Cuti, Pathmark's president since 1994, was not named to succeed Futterman. The Pathmark executive declined to comment on that point or on whether Cuti currently is being considered as a successor.

Futterman is retiring to devote more time to his family and to nonprofit community affairs, Pathmark reported. A company statement said Futterman informed Pathmark's directors several months ago of his plans to retire and that he and the board "had been reviewing the issue of successorship over the last few months in anticipation of his retirement."

Futterman joined Pathmark in 1973 as vice president and general manager of its pharmacies and general merchandise departments after serving as president of Whelan Drug Stores, a now-defunct chain that operated in the New York metro area. He was named Pathmark chairman and CEO in 1989.

In announcing his retirement last week, Futterman said he was most proud of Pathmark's leadership position in combination stores in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. He also lauded the support he has received from the company's employeesduring his tenure.

Boyle last week praised Futterman's contributions to Pathmark, noting in a statement that he had been "instrumental in returning the company to profitability after the 1987 leveraged buyout and in strategically positioning the company for continued growth and profitability." After the LBO, Pathmark operated as part of a conglomerate called Supermarkets General Corp. until a financial recapitalization in 1993.