C&S Hires EVP/Chief HR Officer

C&S Wholesale Grocers has appointed David Almeda its EVP and chief human resources officer, effective Sept. 1, 2014. In his new role, Almeda will focus on talent acquisition and development, organizational design, employee engagement, and other initiatives to best position C&S for ongoing success.

"Dave is an accomplished professional who provides a visionary leadership style," noted C&S President Mark Verdi. "His extensive knowledge of the human resources arena will allow us to build and further develop talent strategies and programs that will enable us to deliver exceptional value to our customers in this dynamic industry."

Almeda said that, together with his new colleagues, he intends to "implement the strategies that will transform not just this company, but the industry as well."

Before joining C&S, Almeda was chief people officer for four years at Chelmsford, Mass.-based workforce management organization Kronos, where he handled talent acquisition and development, compensation and benefits, and employee engagement programs. Additionally, while at Kronos, he created and cultivated the "Work Inspired" employment brand, which resulted in improved employee benefits and increased charitable efforts and programs.

Earlier, Almeda worked at the Hertz Corp. and Staples.

Keene, N.H.-based C&S serves about 5,000 stores from more than 50 locations in 15 states. Its customers include Stop & Shop, Giant-Carlisle, Giant-Landover, Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie, A&P, Kroger, Safeway and Target.