SpartanNash promotes Chief Legal Officer Illeana McAlary

Ileana McAlary, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at SpartanNash, has been elevated from senior vice president to executive vice president.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based SpartanNash said Monday that, in her role, McAlary oversees the grocery distributor/retailer’s expanding legal, government affairs, compliance and aviation team. She also serves as corporate secretary of the company’s board of directors and president of the SpartanNash Foundation.  

McAlary has served as chief legal officer since Nov. 15, 2021, when she joined SpartanNash as the successor to Kathleen Mahoney, who retired after 17 years at the company and played a key role in the 2013 merger of Nash Finch and Spartan Stores that formed SpartanNash.

Ileana McAlary, EVP and chief legal officer / Photo courtesy of SpartanNash

“Ileana and her team have played a crucial role in modernizing our corporate legal function as we champion customer-focused innovation and prepare for growth,” SpartanNash CEO Tony Sarsam said in a statement. “She is a ‘People First’ leader who advocates courageously for our associates, customers and communities every day. I am proud to recognize her talents and passion for service with this well-deserved promotion.”

McAlary came to SpartanNash after more than five years at Wolverine Worldwide, most recently as vice president and associate general counsel and compliance officer. Before that, she spent over three-and-a-half years as senior counsel at supercenter and grocery retailer Meijer, seven years as corporate counsel III at Amway and three years as an attorney at the law firm Miller Johnson.

Through its core food wholesaling business, SpartanNash distributes to all 50 states, supplying 147 corporate-run supermarkets in nine Midwestern states—which constitute its retail business unit—and over 2,100 independent grocery retailers nationwide. The company, with about 17,500 employees, also distributes to 160 military commissaries and over 400 exchanges in the United States and internationally.