United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) has announced the appointment of J. Alexander (Sandy) Miller Douglas to the role of chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of its Board of Directors effective August 9, 2021. Douglas is a proven, customer-focused, strategic leader who brings a broad background and expertise in distribution, sales, marketing and e-commerce as the new CEO, the company stated. Douglas was selected after an extensive search to replace Steven Spinner, who earlier announced his retirement as CEO and who will concurrently retire from the Board, both effective August 9, 2021. Spinner will continue to provide management and Board advisory services to UNFI through a transition period for up to one year after his retirement.
Douglas most recently served as CEO of Staples, Inc. Prior to Staples, he served as president of Coca-Cola North America, overseeing the $10 billion revenue business, encompassing all aspects of its consumer and business-to-business operations. During his 30-year tenure at The Coca-Cola Company, he also served as global chief customer officer, and held a variety of leadership positions across sales and marketing.
“We are pleased to welcome Sandy as our new CEO and member of the UNFI Board,” said Denise Clark, chair of the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee and CEO Succession Planning Committee. “He has a demonstrated track record leading large-scale transformation and growth through strategic, customer-focused action.”
Douglas said, “I am honored to join UNFI. The company’s vision to transform the future of food has never been more important, and the opportunities in front of us are tremendous. Under Steve, UNFI has built a strong foundation for growth, and I look forward to working with UNFI’s exceptional leadership team, the 30,000 hard-working associates across this entire organization and our Board to continue delivering innovative growth platforms that help make our customers stronger and our operations more successful.”
Also effective as of August 9, 2021, the UNFI Board has elected Jack Stahl to serve as independent chair of the Board. Stahl has served in senior leadership positions throughout his career, most recently as president and CEO of Revlon Inc., and currently serves as lead director of Catalent, Inc. “Jack’s experience in executive and board leadership roles provide a strong foundation for his leadership of UNFI. The entire board looks forward to working closely with Jack and Sandy as we guide UNFI’s growth and support the entire team in their mission to transform the future of food,” said Clark.
With Stahl’s appointment as an independent Chair, Peter Roy will step down as the company’s lead director, a position he has held since 2019, and will remain an active member of the UNFI Board.
Stahl joined the company’s Board in June 2019 and has served as the chair of the Compensation Committee since September 2020.
For more information, visit www.unfi.com.
