Mac Naughton Departs Supervalu; Search on for Successor
As the latest in a series of executive changes occurring at Supervalu, Duncan Mac Naughton, 47, has resigned as EVP of merchandising and marketing. No reason was given for his departure, which follows on the heels of the departures of two other senior executives -- Mike Jackson, Supervalu’s former president/COO, and Kevin Tripp, EVP and Midwest Retail division president -- who both left the company in mid-August amid a realignment of the Minneapolis-based retailer’s leadership structure.
In announcing the departures of Jackson and Tripp, the company said it intended to combine its three retail regions, make several shifts in executive duties and add a new health division, the latter of which Mac Naughton was on deck to lead.
Craig Herkert, who was named Supervalu’s CEO and president in early May, described Mac Naughton as an “integral part of our management team [who] has helped us lay the foundation for our company’s future success. We wish him well as he pursues his career interests and ambitions.”
The company said that “all current business initiatives and strategies will continue as planned,” while it searches for a replacement for Mac Naughton. In the interim, Supervalu’s merchandising and marketing functions will report directly to Herkert, who said, “We have powerful merchandising and marketing teams that give us the ability to leverage national scale, while serving local market preferences.”
Mac Naughton joined Supervalu in 2006 as when the company acquired part of Albertsons, where he held the position of EVP of merchandising. Prior to joining Albertsons in 2003, Mac Naughton had spent six years in key leadership roles at HEB Grocery Co., his last assignment at that company being group VP of grocery procurement, merchandising and own brand. Before HEB, Mac Naughton had spent 13 years with Kraft Foods in key areas such as category sales management and planning, sales strategy, brand and product development, trade planning, and strategic food marketing and business planning.
In announcing the departures of Jackson and Tripp, the company said it intended to combine its three retail regions, make several shifts in executive duties and add a new health division, the latter of which Mac Naughton was on deck to lead.
Craig Herkert, who was named Supervalu’s CEO and president in early May, described Mac Naughton as an “integral part of our management team [who] has helped us lay the foundation for our company’s future success. We wish him well as he pursues his career interests and ambitions.”
The company said that “all current business initiatives and strategies will continue as planned,” while it searches for a replacement for Mac Naughton. In the interim, Supervalu’s merchandising and marketing functions will report directly to Herkert, who said, “We have powerful merchandising and marketing teams that give us the ability to leverage national scale, while serving local market preferences.”
Mac Naughton joined Supervalu in 2006 as when the company acquired part of Albertsons, where he held the position of EVP of merchandising. Prior to joining Albertsons in 2003, Mac Naughton had spent six years in key leadership roles at HEB Grocery Co., his last assignment at that company being group VP of grocery procurement, merchandising and own brand. Before HEB, Mac Naughton had spent 13 years with Kraft Foods in key areas such as category sales management and planning, sales strategy, brand and product development, trade planning, and strategic food marketing and business planning.