Albertsons LLC Appoints 3 SVPs

Albertsons LLC has named company veteran Mike Massimino to the new position of SVP of marketing and merchandising; Rick Bunnell to the new position of SVP of supply chain; and Justin Ewing to the new position of SVP of corporate development and real estate.

Massimino’s career with Albertsons began in 1975 in Logan, Utah, where he started at a local store as a frozen food clerk. He held positions of increasing responsibility, eventually holding district leadership roles in merchandising and operations before moving to the corporate office in Boise as the director of grocery merchandising. Massimino served as president of GM/HBC at Albertsons Inc.’s Scottsdale office prior to joining Albertsons LLC in 2006 as group VP, Center Store. Massimino also lead the company’s national merchandising strategy and vendor partnership development.

Bunnell has been with Albertsons transportation management since 1983, when he started with the Brea distribution center, and held several leadership positions with Albertsons Inc., culminating in his being regional VP of supply chain with responsibility for the distribution centers located in the Southeast U.S. He joined Albertsons LLC in 2006 in that same role and was promoted to group VP of supply chain in 2012. Bunnell will lead the company’s supply chain operation which includes 12 distribution centers.

Ewing joined Albertsons LLC in 2006 as VP of corporate development after playing an integral role in the original 2006 Albertsons acquisition. At Albertsons, he has led numerous transaction, restructuring and financing projects, and in 2011 took on the role of VP real estate and development. Prior to his career with Albertsons LLC, Ewing worked for Cerberus Capital Management’s Operations Advisory team. 

Albertsons also named its operations, marketing and merchandising VPs for its new divisions:

• Acme Markets: Dennis Clark, most recently VP of merchandising for the Acme division of Supervalu, will retain his role at the division going forward. Clark began his retail career with Safeway in Utah and started with Albertsons Inc. in 1988. Acme is also retaining Dan Croce as VP of operations, who joined Acme in 2005.
• Albertsons Northwest Division: Dennis Schwarz, most recently a district manager in the Seattle area for the Intermountain West division of Supervalu, and previously VP sales and merchandising for the same area, began his career at Albertsons in 1976 in Washington. He has been named the Northwest VP of marketing and merchandising.
• Albertsons Intermountain Division: John Colgrove, most recently sales merchandising manager for the Intermountain West division of Supervalu, and previously a VP of marketing and merchandising for the Dallas Fort Worth Division of Albertsons Inc., began his career with Albertsons in 1977 in Colorado. He has been named the Intermountain VP of marketing and merchandising.
• Albertsons Southern California: Greg McNiff, most recently SVP operations in the Southern California division of Supervalu, began his career at Albertsons in 1981. He has been named the VP of marketing and merchandising. Additionally, Wendy Oliver has been named VP of operations for the division. Most recently area VP of operations, she began her career with American Stores in 1988.
• Albertsons Market Southern Division: David Urby, most recently a district manager for the Southern Division’s West Texas stores, began his career at Albertsons in 1984. He has been named the Southern VP of marketing and merchandising.
• Albertsons Market Southwest Division: Greg Matteri, most recently meat sales manager for the Southwest division, joined the company in 1973. He held several key leadership positions including director of meat and seafood and director of fresh for Albertsons Inc. and Supervalu. He has been named the Southwest VP of marketing and merchandising.
• Jewel Osco: Ken Diehl, formerly VP of marketing and merchandising of the Southwest division of Albertsons LLC, has been named Jewel Osco’s VP of marketing and merchandising. He began his career at Albertsons in 1993.
• Shaws & Star Markets: Paul Gossett, most recently senior director of merchandising at Nash Finch, started with Albertsons in 1977 and held roles of increasing responsibility with the company as well as Winn Dixie and Nash Finch. He is returning to the company after being named VP of marketing and merchandising.
• Pharmacy Division: Tom Rousonelos and Stewart Edington have each been named VP of pharmacy operations for the company’s NAI and Albertsons LLC divisions, respectively. Rousonelos began his career with Jewel-Osco in 1989, and held various positions including pharmacy manager, store management, district pharmacy manager, regional manager and most recently, VP of pharmacy operations for Jewel-Osco, Albertsons Intermountain West, Cub and Shop N Save. Edington has been with Albertsons stores since 2003 when he was hired as a pharmacy manager. In 2006, Stewart joined Albertson’s LLC as the division pharmacy manager and was promoted to Vice President of Pharmacy in 2011.

AB Acquisition LLC, which operates Acme, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Shaws & Star Market stores, is privately owned by Cerberus Capital Management, Kimco Realty Corporation, Klaff Realty, Lubert-Adler Partners and Schottenstein Stores Corporation. The company operates over 1,000 stores and 12 distribution centers in twenty nine states and employs approximately 109,000 associates.