RILA Elects Board of Directors

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) elected nine top retail CEOs to its board of directors during the body’s semi-annual meeting, held Sunday, Jan. 24 in Naples, Fla. In addition to Bill Rhodes, chairman, president and CEO of AutoZone Inc., who was elected board chairman, succeeding Dollar General Corp. Chairman Richard Dreiling, board members include Target Corp. CEO Brian Cornell and Whole Foods Market Co-CEO Walter Robb, the latter of whom was re-elected to a two-year term.

“RILA is a valued partner on which America’s largest and most sophisticated retailers rely to help address the most pressing issues we face,” noted Rhodes.

“RILA relies heavily on the leadership and support of our board of directors. Their insight into the challenges facing the retail industry is invaluable,” said Sandy Kennedy, president of the Arlington, Va.-based trade organization and herself a member of its board of directors.

Among other members of RILA’s board are top execs from Petco, Walgreens, The Coca-Cola Co., Energizer Holdings Inc., IBM Corp., PetSmart, Newell Rubbermaid, Unilever and Dollar General.

Members of RILA include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers and service suppliers.