Supervalu names new heads for Albertsons, Acme and Cub Foods
MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu on Monday announced three new executive appointments following the departure of Sue Klug, president of its Albertsons Southern California division.
Dan Sanders has been tapped to head Albertsons Southern California, Keith Wyche will lead Acme and Brian Audette has been named president at Cub Foods.
“Sue has been a champion of diversity and environmental stewardship for the company, and has been honored within the industry and community for these efforts,” stated Pete Van Helden, Supervalu EVP retail operations. “We thank Sue for her years of service and leadership in Southern California and wish her well as she moves on to dedicate her talent and attention to long-time personal and professional ambitions.”
Replacing Klug will be Sanders, current president of Supervalu's Acme Markets division, based in Philadelphia. Sanders joined Acme in 2010 and led the division as it embarked on a large-scale effort to lower prices, improve sales and profitability, refocus customer service efforts and enhance shopper satisfaction. Sanders came to Acme from United Supermarkets in Lubbock, Texas, where he served as CEO for six years. During his time with United, Sanders served on the board of directors for the Western Association of Food Chains.
Wyche will succeed Sanders as president of Acme. He currently serves as the president of Supervalu's Cub Foods division, a full-service retail and pharmacy chain with 67 stores in Minnesota and Illinois. A strong leader at Cub, Wyche has improved sales trends and grown profitability since joining the company in 2010. In addition to guiding the division’s strategy, he has been an active member in the community. Wyche began his career in sales, marketing and management roles with AT&T and IBM. Prior to coming to Supervalu, he was president of U.S. operations for Pitney Bowes’ Pitney Management Services division. Before that, he held various sales leadership and general management positions with Convergys and Ameritech. He is on the corporate board of directors for WMS Industries.
Taking over for Wyche at Cub Foods will be Audette, who began his grocery career working in Pick ‘N Save stores in Wisconsin. He joined Supervalu in 1991, gaining more than 20 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility within category management, marketing and merchandising. He served as the group VP independent sales, marketing and merchandising within the supply chain organization before being named business transformation officer in 2010. Last year, he was promoted to group VP merchandising transformation and process improvement. Audette’s work has given him in-depth exposure to both the retail and wholesale areas of the business, and his intimate knowledge of the needs of the independent retailer will provide a strong foundation for his new role with Cub’s franchise owners.