Aldi Promotes Brent Laubaugh to Co-president

Brent Laubaugh has been promoted to co-president of Aldi's Batavia, Ill.-based U.S. division, joining David Behm and Chuck Youngstrom, who continue in their roles as co-presidents.

All three co-presidents report to Aldi CEO Jason Hart.

Laubaugh, whose promotion is effective March 28, has been with Aldi for more than 20 years, holding a variety of roles throughout his career, most recently VP of the national grocery chain's suburban Pittsburgh-based Saxonburg, Pa., division.

“Aldi has a different style when it comes to grocery shopping and that differentiation has helped make us one of the fastest growing retailers in the U.S.,” said Hart. “To support our significant expansion, it was important that we strengthen our leadership team to ensure our success. With the addition of Brent to our team, we have the right leaders in place to continue growing [our] business.”

Laubaugh's promotion comes amid an accelerated expansion plan at Aldi, which by the end of 2018 will bring its compact format grocery stores to more than 45 million customers each month, according to the company.

To reach its aggressive goals, Aldi will create more than 10,000 new jobs at its stores, warehouses and division offices from coast to coast and invest more than $3 billion to pay for land, facilities and equipment. When completed, Aldi will have nearly 2,000 stores, marking an almost 50 percent increase in only five years.

Aldi currently operates 1,500 U.S. stores in 32 states.