Following a rigorous national search, Wakefern Food Corp. announced that Mike Stigers will assume the role as President effective June 1st. Current President Joe Sheridan, who announced his retirement last year, will remain with the company through the end of the calendar year to ensure a successful transition. Sheridan’s departure marks a successful 47-year career with the cooperative, including the past 11 years as president. Stigers brings five decades of industry experience to the role, beginning his career as a part-time courtesy clerk at a Safeway store in California. Gaining invaluable experience in the areas of operations, merchandising, retail technology, food safety, supply chain and fresh, Stigers has served as CEO of Minnesota-Based Cub Foods, a subsidiary of UNFI since 2019. Prior to his CEO role, he spent eight years at SuperValu, beginning in 2011 as the president of Shaw’s/Star Market in New England. In 2013, he went on to lead SuperValu’s northern wholesale region and then in 2014, he was named president of Cub Foods. In 2016, he was promoted to the position of executive vice president, SuperValu Wholesale and Supply Chain Services, and occupied that role until it was acquired by UNFI in 2018.
From a small, local cooperative that began with eight grocery store owners, Wakefern Food Corp. has grown into the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States. Founded in 1946, the cooperative includes nearly 50 member families who today independently own and operate hundreds of supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, and Fairway Market banners across nine states.
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