Albertsons Says CEO Vivek Sankaran to Retire May 1

Albertsons Companies said Monday (March 3) that CEO Vivek Sankaran will retire May 1 and will be succeeded by Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Susan Morris, effective the same day.

Morris will also join the Albertsons Cos. board of directors on May 1, replacing Sankaran, the company said in a Monday press release.

“The Board is confident that Susan is the ideal person to lead the Company into its next chapter of growth,” Jim Donald, chair of the Albertsons Cos. board of directors, said in the release. “With a nearly 40-year career at the Company that began at an Albertsons store in the Denver market, Susan brings unmatched expertise and deep knowledge of the business.”

Morris has served in her current roles at the grocery giant since January 2018, leading its retail operations and overseeing more than 2,200 stores across 34 states, according to the release. Before that, she held a variety of other leadership roles at Albertsons.

“I have worked closely with Vivek and the leadership team on our plans to accelerate growth and am confident that we are on the right path with our Customers for Life strategy,” Morris said in the release.

The Customers for Life strategy was introduced in 2022 and includes getting customers more engaged with the brand’s eCommerce and loyalty offerings as well as personalizing its digital experience and promotional offers, PYMNTS reported in October.

Sankaran led Albertsons Cos. over the past six years, managing the company’s response to the pandemic and driving its Customers for Life Strategy, Donald said in the company’s Monday press release.

“It has been a privilege to lead Albertsons Cos. through a critical period of evolution and I couldn’t be more confident in the Company’s future with Susan at the helm,” Sankaran said in the release.

Albertsons said in the release that the company reaffirmed the fiscal 2024 outlook it shared in its third quarter earnings announcement on Jan. 8.

The announcement of the CEO transition came on the same day that grocery giant Kroger said that its Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen resigned from the company after a board investigation of his personal conduct.

It was reported Dec. 10 that a federal judge blocked Kroger’s planned $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, citing concerns that the deal would reduce competition in the U.S. grocery market.