McLane Announces New Grocery Supply Chain Leader
Supply chain service provider McLane Company, Inc. has named Chris Smith as president of its $33 billion grocery unit.
During a crucial period in the nation's grocery supply chain, Smith will work to deliver solutions to more than 70,000 retail locations. He brings an extensive background to his new role as head of McLane Grocery, joining the company from his most recent position as a SVP and chief supply chain officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance. He also oversaw supply chain operations at C&S Wholesale as an EVP and chief supply chain officer, and was a senior leader in distribution and logistics at Texas healthcare company McKesson Corporation. An economics graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Smith is also a board member at Phillips Pet Food & Supplies.
“We are very pleased to have Chris join our team,” said McLane’s CEO Tony Frankenberger. “He brings a wealth of supply chain and logistics leadership experience across diverse industries that will contribute to many areas of our business.”
Through McLane Grocery and McLane Foodservice, McLane Company, Inc. operates over 80 distribution centers and one of the nation’s largest private fleets. The company is a wholly owned unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. operates more than 9,000 retail locations across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, serving about 8 million customers daily. Walgreens is No. 5 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Meanwhile, C&S supplies more than 7,700 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with 137,000-plus products. The Keene, N.H.-based company is No. 16 on The PG 100.
