C&S Wholesale Grocers promotes Eric Winn to CEO

C&S Wholesale Grocers, the nation’s largest private grocery distributor, has named Eric Winn as CEO, succeeding Bob Palmer, who is retiring.

Plans call for Winn, currently chief operating officer, to take the helm as CEO on Oct. 2, when Palmer is slated to retire, Keene, New Hampshire-based C&S reported Thursday. The company said Palmer will remain on the C&S board of directors and work with Winn over the coming months to ensure a “smooth transition” at the chief executive’s post.

A 19-year C&S veteran, Winn was promoted to COO—a newly created position—in December 2021 after leading the commercial division as president since July 2020. The expanded role came with the planned retirement of Peter Fiore, chief supply chain officer. Before that, Winn was senior vice president and general manager of the Western region and national business development. He served in a range of roles—including in supply chain, procurement, operations, sales, merchandising, and planning and analytics—earlier in his career at C&S, which he joined in August 2004.

From left: Eric Winn and Bob Palmer of C&S Wholesale Grocers. / Photos courtesy of C&S

“Eric has been visionary in transforming our operations to drive long-term sustainable growth,” C&S Wholesale Grocers Chairman Rick Cohen said in a statement. “He has been deeply invested in ensuring that C&S will continue to be a market leader, while developing a pipeline of strong talent in every aspect of our operations. I look forward to Eric continuing C&S’s strong legacy of braggingly happy customers.”

Palmer has held the CEO reins at C&S since October 2020, when he came out of retirement to take over from Mike Duffy. A former executive at pharmaceutical distributor Cardinal Health, Duffy had served as CEO of C&S since January 2018, when he took the reins from Cohen. At the time, C&S declined to provide more details on the CEO change.

Prior to his initial retirement at C&S in September 2019, after more than 30 years at the grocery wholesaler, Palmer had served as executive vice president and chief procurement officer. He came to C&S in February 1986 as head buyer and then served as director of procurement until 1995, when he added the title of vice president. In October 1996, he was promoted to senior vice president of nonperishable procurement. He became executive vice president and chief procurement officer in 2015.

Palmer joined C&S after spending four years at Riverside Markets, a Penn Traffic Co. division, and serving four years as a retail store manager in Albertsons’ Southco Division in Florida and Alabama.

“The foundation of C&S’ success has always been our people. Today’s announcement demonstrates that this legacy remains strong. Bob was appointed CEO during extraordinary times—the pandemic and the resulting impact on our industry. Bob was critical in effectively leading C&S through these challenges and driving long-term growth,” according to Cohen. “Bob has been a well-respected leader and customer partner. I am excited to have his continued dedication, leadership and guidance as a member of our board of directors.”

Overall, C&S Wholesale Grocers supplies more than 7,500 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions, offering over 100,000 products.