Last updated on May 2nd, 2013 at 11:38 am
Robert L. Edwards will succeed Steve Burd as CEO when Burd retires on May 14 from Safeway Inc. in Pleasanton, Calif.
Edwards, who is president, also will join the company’s board of directors at that time.
Burd also holds the chairman’s title. T. Gary Rogers, currently lead independent director on the board, will become non-executive chairman upon Burd’s retirement.
Edwards joined Safeway as EVP and CFO in 2004. In April 2012, he was named president, with overall responsibility for the company’s retail operations, marketing, merchandising, corporate brands, manufacturing, distribution and finance functions. He continued as CFO until Peter J. Bocian succeeded him in that role in February 2013.
Prior to joining Safeway, Edwards was a senior executive at Maxtor Corp., Imation Corp. and Santa Fe Pacific Corp. He serves as a director on KKR Financial Holdings LLC and on Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Safeway.
“Since he arrived here in 2004, Robert has successfully met every challenge he has faced,” said Burd. “He has demonstrated the ability to lead the company in all facets of its operations, and has earned the respect of the entire organization.”
Rogers has been a member of the company’s board of directors since March 2011. He is former chairman and CEO of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc., leading the nation’s largest ice cream company from 1977 to 2007. He later served as non-executive chairman of Levi Strauss & Co. and of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
“The board undertook a thorough search and concluded that Robert is the best candidate to lead Safeway,” said Rogers. “He has the talent and experience that give the Board confidence that he will be a successful CEO.”
Safeway operates 1,638 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $44.2 billion in 2012.
