Big Y Appoints 9 Execs
New England supermarket retailer Big Y Foods, Inc. has made the following new appointments: Phillip J. Schneider to SVP of sales, Libby L. Pidgeon VP of employee services; Thomas M. Butler to director of compensation and benefits; Kelly A. Carrington to director of tax and internal audit; Mathieu L. D’Amour to director of store development, Brian J. Gannon to director of process improvement, Laurie A. Hebert to director of employee development, Theresa Jasmin to corporate controller, and Jeremy P. Payson to treasurer.
At its June meeting, Big Y’s board of directors named Schneider SVP of sales in recognition of his many years of service and dedication to the company, as well as to the grocer’s international buying cooperative, Topco Associates. In his new role, Schneider, who has over 47 years of experience in the supermarket industry, remains responsible for overall sales and procurement, advertising, and retail pricing for all sales departments within the Springfield, Mass.-based chain. He reports to Big Y president Charles L. D’Amour.
Pidgeon, whose nearly two decades of human resources experience within the food industry include stints at Tops Markets and Supervalu, will be responsible for providing strategic direction to the Employee Services team that supports all of Big Y’s locations, encompassing about 9,200 employees within stores, distribution, facilities management and corporate support offices. She will develop and drive employee engagement initiatives, and oversee employee relations, compensation and benefits, and leadership development as well as providing guidance in such areas as career planning, talent management, compliance and diversity. She reports to chairman and CEO Donald. H. D’Amour.
As director of compensation and benefits, Butler, a 23-year veteran of the supermarket industry, will be responsible for designing and maintaining company-wide employee compensation and benefit programs including health care, retirement and management incentives. Butler will also oversee the company’s wellness initiatives, leave-of-absence programs, payroll processing and related government tax filings. He reports to Pidgeon.
Carrington’s responsibilities as director of tax and internal audit include corporate income tax planning and compliance as well as internal audit functions. In her new position, she will establish policies and processes to help the organization achieve its internal control objectives and will perform risk assessments, as well as conduct and evaluate audits with recommendations as needed. Carrington, who joined Big Y in 1998 as a senior accountant, reports to CFO William D. White.
As director of store development, D’Amour will be responsible for the overall management of store design, construction, remodeling, project management and some aspects of real estate acquisition and management. D’Amour, who began working at Big Y as a part-time service clerk, later became a store manager and eventually joined the Facilities Management team as design and construction manager, will continue to report to VP of real estate and development Frank J. Horacek.
In his new role of director of process improvement, Gannon, whose career with the grocer spans the past 30 years and has encompassed such positions as part-time service clerk, produce manager, store manager, and director of produce and floral, will handle program development, implementation, and analysis for work-flow systems throughout all divisions of the company by working with all employee and management groups. His work will additionally include projects such as an inventory management system and other data management systems as he merges employee resources with technological ones across all disciplines of the company. He reports to VP marketing and corporate strategies Antonio F. Gomes.
Hebert’s duties as director of employee development include overseeing leadership development programs, training and development and career planning systems, and employee engagement processes. An employee of Big Y for the past 22 years, Hebert will also identify the learning needs of the company, along with the design and development of curriculum as needed. She will also work with the operations group to meet the business needs of the entire organization. She reports to Pidgeon.
In her new position of corporate controller, Jasmin, a 20-year food industry veteran who joined Big Y as a senior accountant in 2005, will be responsible for all accounting and financial reporting for the company. She will additionally oversee inventory and gross profit accounting, fixed asset accounting, accounts payable and all financial reporting including the external audit. Jasmin reports to White.
In addition to directing all treasury functions, Payson, who has been at Big Y since 1988 and became assistant treasurer in 2005, is responsible for liquidity management, all banking services and loan covenants, annual budget processes, developing financial plans and other financial analyses as needed. He reports to White.
Family-owned and -operated Big Y, one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England, has 56 stores throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts with over 9,200 employees.