SpartanNash Names New Chief Legal Officer
SpartanNash is getting a new legal leader. Illeana McAlary has joined the Michigan-based food retailer as a SVP, chief legal officer and corporate attorney.
McAlary will succeed outgoing chief legal officer Kathleen “Kathy” Mahoney, who is retiring after working for the company for more than 17 years. Mahoney played a key role in negotiating and closing the 2013 merger between Nash Finch and Spartan Stores to form the current SpartanNash operation.
McAlary brings several years’ of expertise to her new role. A senior counsel at Meijer, Inc., she also served as a corporate counsel at Amway Corp. and as an attorney in private practice. Most recently, she was a VP, associate general counsel and compliance officer for footwear manufacturer Wolverine World Wide. She earned her law degree at Wayne State University and attended law school at the University of Havana in Cuba.
McAlary will report to president and CEO Tony Sarsam. A former CEO of Borden Dairy Co., Inc., Sarsam joined SpartanNash in September 2020.
“Ileana brings broad-based corporate, transactional, regulatory compliance, risk mitigation and management experience across multiple industries and international markets,” Sarsam said. “As a company that serves food retailers in all 50 states and in many overseas locations, Ileana’s expertise will be invaluable. We are thrilled to welcome her to SpartanNash as we continue building out our executive leadership team and working to advance our People First culture for our family of 19,000 associates.”
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. 39 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-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 also operates 146 supermarkets, mainly under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery, and Dan’s Supermarket, and employs 19,000 associates.
