Supervalu Shuffles Execs at Acme, Albertsons and Cub

The pending departure of Sue Klug as president of the Albertsons Southern California division has prompted Supervalu Inc. to shuffle some of the top brass among its traditional banners nationwide.

Klug, who will leave the company at the end of the month, will be succeeded by Dan Sanders, currently the president of Supervalu’s Philadelphia-based Acme Markets division. Taking over at Acme will be Keith Wyche, who’s giving up his post as president of Minnesota-based Cub Foods to Brian Audette, who last year was promoted to Supervalu’s group VP of merchandising transformation and process improvement.

“Sue has been a champion of diversity and environmental stewardship for the company, and has been honored within the industry and community for these efforts,” Pete Van Helden, Supervalu executive VP of retail operations, said of Klug. “We thank Sue for her years of service and leadership in Southern California and wish her well as she moves on to dedicate her talent and attention to long-time personal and professional ambitions.”

Sanders joined Acme in 2010 and led the division as it embarked on a large-scale effort to lower prices, improve sales and profitability, refocus customer service efforts and enhance shopper satisfaction. He came to Acme from United Supermarkets in Lubbock, Texas, where he served as CEO for six years.

Described by Supervalu as a “strong leader” at Cub, Wyche has improved sales trends and grown profitability since joining the company in 2010. Wyche began his career in sales, marketing and management roles with AT&T and IBM; he also served as president of U.S. operations for Pitney Bowes’ Pitney Management Services division and held various sales leadership and general management positions with Convergys and Ameritech.

Audette began his grocery career working in Pick ‘N Save stores in Wisconsin. He joined Supervalu in 1991, serving as group VP of independent sales, marketing and merchandising within the supply chain organization before being named business transformation officer in 2010.

“Dan, Keith and Brian embody the entrepreneurial spirit that is at the core of our hyperlocal strategy,” Van Helden said. “Coupled with their combined experience in the industry and their working knowledge of Supervalu’s strategy and operations, I believe they are ideally suited for their new responsibilities. I have full confidence in their abilities to lead their new teams to achieve our sales, profitability and growth objectives.”

Minneapolis-based Supervalu Inc. operates a network of 4,300 stores composed of 1,102 traditional retail stores, including 797 in-store pharmacies; 1,332 hard-discount stores, of which 935 are operated by licensee owners; and 1,900 independent stores serviced primarily by the company's traditional food distribution business.