Industry Vet Ken Martindale Becomes CEO of Rite Aid Stores

Rite Aid Corp. has promoted President and COO Ken Martindale to the newly created position of CEO of Rite Aid stores, effective immediately. In his new role, Martindale, a retail industry veteran whose earlier career included stints at Pathmark, Fred Meyer and Smith's Food & Drug, will continue to report to Rite Aid Corp. Chairman and CEO John Standley and will retain the title of Rite Aid Corp. president.

"Ken is a proven leader who, since joining our company in 2008, has played an instrumental role in driving Rite Aid's improved business performance," noted Standley, adding that the drug store chain would "further [leverage] Ken's strong leadership skills and broad understanding of Rite Aid's business to help us continue our momentum and successfully grow our business."

Continued Standley: "In addition to my ongoing responsibilities and duties as chairman and CEO of Rite Aid, Ken's promotion will allow me to also focus on working closely with our new health are-focused management teams at EnvisionRx, RediClinic and Health Dialog to further accelerate our growth by implementing initiatives that deliver value to our customers and help us provide greater access to convenient, affordable and high-quality health care."

To help Rite Aid further drive growth and efficiencies, the company has also made the following executive management appointments, all reporting to Martindale:

• Jocelyn Konrad, group VP of pharmacy services, becomes EVP of pharmacy, succeeding Robert Thompson, who is retiring in September.
• David Abelman, SVP of brand development and innovation, assumes the newly created role of EVP of marketing. SVP of Marketing John Learish will continue to manage Rite Aid’s retail drug store marketing team and will report to Abelman.
• Tony Montini, EVP of merchandising, becomes EVP of merchandising and distribution. SVP of Supply Chain Wilson Lester will continue to manage Rite Aid’s distribution network and will report to Montini.

Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid operates nearly 4,600 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia.