Supervalu names new chief information officer

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu on Thursday announced the appointment of Kathy Persian as SVP and chief information officer. Persian, 45, joined the company in February 2010 in the role of group VP retail and merchandising systems, and later moved to group VP corporate planning, analysis and business process. 

Persian was named to the CIO post following the decision by Wayne Shurts to accept a position with another company, Supervalu reported. In her new role as chief information officer, Persian will lead all of the company’s information technology activities.

“Kathy has held roles within Supervalu that have allowed her to become familiar with both the business and information technology sides of the company,” stated Wayne Sales, Supervalu president, CEO and chairman. “This experience will serve her well in providing the technological and business support the company needs as we continue to focus on profitable growth while reducing expenses.”

Prior to Supervalu, Persian spent more than 20 years at Accenture and Best Buy working in business areas of IT, general retail, retail operations, merchandising, supply chain and finance. At Accenture, Persian began as a staff consultant and worked her way up to a partner in their retail practice. She most recently worked for Best Buy as the SVP international business process and operations.