This past year saw its fair share of CEO entrances and departures — especially among regional and smaller, specialty grocery chains.
Several of these top executive appointments signal potential growth for the retailers. Upon being named CEO of Heritage Grocers Group, grocery industry veteran Suzy Monford said the company, which operates more than 100 grocery stores across several brands, plans to “grow at scale over the years to come.”
At the start of this year, Big Y announced several top executive appointments, including Michael D’Amour as its president and CEO, at a time when the regional chain was growing its retail footprint of both supermarkets and gas and convenience stores.
Some of the changes happened suddenly. Grocery Outlet’s CEO RJ Sheedy, who started in the position in January 2023, left the company in October and resigned from its board of directors. The discounter named Eric Lindberg, the board’s chairman and a former CEO of the company, as interim president and CEO. In November, Dollar General announced CEO Rick Dreiling would be stepping down from the CEO role due to personal health issues. Both departures came as these discount retailers dealt with lackluster sales amid rapid unit growth.
As we approach the end of the year, here’s a look back at some of the top CEO changes announced in 2024.
