Retired President/CEO of Unified Grocers Passes Away
Alfred A. “Al” Plamann, who was president and CEO of Commerce, Calif.-based Unified Grocers (now part of UNFI) from 1999 to 2013, died on Sunday, Oct. 13 at the age of 82. He was a resident of La Cañada Flintridge, Calif. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Plamann joined Los Angeles-based Certified Grocers of California Ltd. in 1989 and went on to become SVP of finance and CFO. In 1994, he was named CEO of the retailer-owned wholesale grocery cooperative. In 1999, Certified Grocers merged with United Grocers Inc., of Portland, Ore., leading to the formation of Unified Grocers.
Under Plamann’s leadership, Unified Grocers saw its annual sales more than double to $4 billion. The company also grew its base from Mexico to Alaska and internationally. Plamann retired from Unified Grocers in 2013 and was succeeded by Bob Ling.
He was also vice chairman of the Twelfth District Economic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve, and served on the boards of the Food Marketing Institute (now FMI – The Food Industry Association) and the National Cooperative Grocers Association. Additionally, Plamann was a noted humanitarian who in 2013 received FMI’s Herbert Hoover Award for his efforts in this area. He was inducted into the California Grocers Association Hall of Achievement in 2004 and into Progressive Grocer’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
Born in 1942, Plamann studied accounting and real estate at the University of Colorado, Boulder as an undergraduate, and earned an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of Business in 1971. He also served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
Plamann’s survivors include his wife, Nancy; his son, Chris; his daughter, Kendall Plamann Glynn; and five grandchildren.
This past April, Philip “Phil” S. Smith, former EVP, chief marketing and procurement officer of Unified Grocers, died at his home after a long battle with cancer.
