On November 17th, HAC Inc., the parent company of regional grocer Homeland Grocery Stores, announced that David Criscione was brought on as president and CEO. Oklahoma City-based HAC operates 78 grocery stores across Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Georgia under various banners including Homeland, United, Cash Saver, Ponca City Discount Foods, Food World and Piggly Wiggly. “I am thrilled to be joining the HAC team,” Criscione said in a statement. “I see so much potential for the organization, and I look forward to leading a dedicated group of employee-owners and serving the communities where we are located.”
Criscione has worked in the grocery and retail industries for over 30 years, most recently as CEO of Jyve Corp. His resume includes executive and leadership positions at Walmart International, Walmart Canada, Amazon, Delhaize America, and Hannaford Supermarkets. During his time at Amazon as Vice President and General Manager of Amazon Go, he helped to launch e-tailer’s physical food store efforts. Employee-owned HAC’s board of directors launched a nationwide search to locate their next CEO. “We were focused on finding an individual whose values align with our employee owners’ values, has deep grocery industry experience, and has a record of developing and successfully implementing strategic thinking,” stated HAC Chairman Richard May. “David clearly distinguished himself from a strong field of candidates, and we feel fortunate to have his leadership onboard as HAC embarks on building its exciting and challenging next chapter of growth.”