Dominick's Pres. Don Keprta Resigns

Don Keprta, president of Safeway’s Chicago-area Dominick's Finer Foods division, has resigned and Brian Baer, CFO and VP of finance for the 99-store regional banner group, has been tapped to assume the role of acting president.

Steve Burd, chairman, president and CEO of Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway, praised Keprta’s significant contributions, along with his “commitment and innovation [that] helped the stores evolve to best serve the Chicagoland customers. We are fortunate that he has produced a team that is prepared to continue to build on our current momentum.”

As president of Dominick's since 2005, Keprta is credited with opening a number of new stores, expanding the lifestyle store remodels and improving store operating standards and metrics. As a corporate leader, he was also very active in the community, sitting on numerous committees and boards for charitable organizations in the Chicago area. Keprta also served on the executive committee and retail board for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and as a board member for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Keprta’s acting replacement, Brian Baer, joined Safeway in 2001 as VP of finance for the Phoenix division. In 2004, he became group VP of finance planning & analysis at the company’s corporate office and came to Dominick's in his current role in 2008.

Prior to joining Safeway, Baer spent more than 12 years with the Marriott Corp., serving in various financial management positions in operations, corporate finance and real estate development.

Safeway Inc. operates 1,694 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $41.1 billion in 2010.