SpartanNash Is Getting a New Chairman of the Board
Lead Independent Director Douglas A. Hacker is poised to become chairman of the board at SpartanNash after Dennis Eidson announced his retirement.
Eidson will retire as chairman of the SpartanNash board and step down from the board when his term expires at the 2021 Annual Meeting on May 26. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the board has nominated Hacker to succeed Eidson as chairman. It is anticipated that Hacker will be elected the new chairman following the Annual Meeting.
Eidson joined Spartan Stores in 2003 as chief merchandising officer, during a period of industry turmoil and not long after Spartan had become a publicly traded company. He became CEO in 2008, a role he filled until 2017, by which time he had merged Spartan Stores with Nash Finch Co. to form SpartanNash. He became a member of the board in 2007 and was appointed chairman of the board in 2016. In addition, he served briefly as interim CEO from 2019-2020. During his tenure with the company, SpartanNash grew from $2.1 billion to $9 billion in revenue.
“It’s an honor to be nominated to succeed Dennis as Chairman," Hacker said. "Few executives have accomplished more than Dennis during his nearly 20 years of leadership at SpartanNash. On behalf of the board and all of us at SpartanNash, I want to thank Dennis for his distinguished service as we continue his unwavering commitment to driving growth and shareholder value.”
Hacker joined the SpartanNash board in November 2013 and has served as lead independent director since May 2018. He previously served as a director of Nash Finch from 2005 until the merger. Hacker is currently an independent business executive and formerly served as EVP, strategy for UAL Corp., the United Airlines holding company, from December 2002 to May 2006. Previously, he served as president, UAL Loyalty Services from September 2001 to December 2002, and as EVP and CFO of United Airlines from July 1994 to September 2001.
Hacker serves as chair of the Columbia Funds Board, a mutual fund complex with over $300 billion of assets. He also serves as a director of Aircastle Limited, a privately held commercial aircraft leasing company. Additionally, he served as a director of Travelport Worldwide Limited from 2016 to 2019 and as a director of SeaCube Container Leasing Ltd. from 2010 until 2014.
SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 40 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Djibouti. SpartanNash operates 154 supermarkets, mainly under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery and Dan’s Supermarket. Through its MDV military division, the company distributes grocery products to U.S. military commissaries.