Standley to assume president, CEO roles at Rite Aid
CAMP HILL, Pa. Rite Aid on Thursday announced that John Standley will be promoted to the position of president and CEO effective June 24 at the company’s annual stockholder meeting. Mary Sammons, currently Rite Aid chairman and CEO, will continue as chairman.
Standley’s promotion is part of the company’s executive succession plan and was approved Thursday at a regularly scheduled meeting of Rite Aid’s board of directors. Sammons, 63, will remain Rite Aid chairman until the company’s annual meeting in June 2012. Sammons said she intends to be an active chairman, continuing to represent the company in industry and government affairs as well as assist as needed with strategic initiatives.
Standley, 46, returned to Rite Aid in September 2008 as president and COO after leaving in August 2005 to become CEO and board director of Pathmark Stores, where he was credited for engineering a second turnaround, the first being Rite Aid during his first tour there. He originally joined Rite Aid in December 1999 as EVP and CFO, part of a new executive management team that also included Sammons. He has served as a member of the Rite Aid board since June 2009.
“When I asked [Standley] to return to Rite Aid, I knew he would move swiftly to improve our company’s operations,” Sammons said. “As president and COO, he’s helped us manage through this recession and set in motion initiatives to grow our company for the future. We are in a much stronger financial position today in large part due to his leadership. His many accomplishments in such a short time as president and COO and his previous successful track record at our company demonstrate his ability to guide Rite Aid as its next CEO.”
“It’s a privilege to work with [Sammons] and the 99,000 talented and dedicated Rite Aid associates to build on the considerable progress we’ve made in the past year,” Standley said. “While we still have a lot of hard work ahead, I’m confident in the strategies we’ve identified to improve our performance and look forward to leading the company as we continue to implement initiatives to grow profitable sales, further improve our cost structure and reduce debt.”
From 2005 until 2007, Standley engineered and led a successful turnaround at Pathmark, a $4 billion regional supermarket chain with a strong pharmacy business that was sold to A&P. At Rite Aid between 1999 and 2005, he served as chief administrative officer, senior EVP and CFO, where he was a key part of the team that helped realize Rite Aid’s first turnaround. Prior to Rite Aid, he served in key executive financial positions at various retail and grocery companies including Fleming, Fred Meyer, Ralph’s Grocery and Smith Food & Drug Centers. He is a member of the board of governors of the Children’s Miracle Network.