Last updated on May 2nd, 2013 at 11:36 am
On Friday, Supervalu announced the election of two new directors on its board: John Standley, chairman, president and CEO of Rite Aid Corp., and Mark A. Neporent, COO and general counsel at Cerberus Capital Management L.P.
“I am very pleased that John and Mark have accepted positions on our board,” said Bob Miller, Supervalu’s non-executive chairman. “It is important that we have a strong board of directors with a mix of industry, financial and professional experience to draw upon. John and Mark provide tremendous knowledge and a strong understanding of the guidance and direction this board should offer Supervalu during its rebuilding process.”
In March, Supervalu completed its divestiture of 877 stores to AB Acquisition (Albertsons LLC) and refocused on its independent wholesale business, hard discount format Save-A-Lot and five regional banners with 191 stores (Cub Foods based in Minnesota; Hornbacher’s in North Dakota; Farm Fresh in Virginia; and Shoppers in Baltimore/Washington, D.C.).
Standley has spent the past 20 years in executive leadership roles in the grocery and pharmacy retail business. He became Rite Aid’s president and COO in September 2008, was appointed to the Rite Aid board of directors in 2009 and was named CEO in June 2010. He was elected chairman of the Rite Aid board in June 2012.
Rite Aid is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with more than 4,600 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2013 annual revenues of $25.4 billion.
In addition to his tenure at Rite Aid, Standley served as CEO and a member of the board of Pathmark Stores, a Northeast regional supermarket chain from 2005-07. He also worked with The Yucaipa Cos. from 1994 to 1999 in a variety of senior leadership positions at several grocery companies that were consolidated into Fred Meyer Inc.
Standley is currently vice chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS).
Neporent is a designee of Symphony Investors, a Cerberus affiliate. He has served as COO and general counsel of Cerberus since 1998. Cerberus, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, has more than $20 billion under management invested in four primary strategies: distressed securities & assets; control and non-control private equity; commercial mid-market lending and real estate-related investments. Neporent is responsible for the day-to-day management of Cerberus and serves on many of the firm’s committees, including the Investment Committee, Valuation Committee and Risk/Compliance Committee, among others.
Prior to joining Cerberus, Neporent was a partner in Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he practiced from 1986 until he joined Cerberus. He also practiced from 1982 to 1986 at the firm of Otterbourg Steindler Houston & Rosen, P.C.
The nine-person board resulting from the April 26 appointments will have five members who are independent directors under the New York Stock Exchange listing standards. The board will continue the search process for one additional independent director.
Upon the selection and appointment of this director, Sam Duncan, Supervalu’s president and CEO will be added, increasing the final size of the board to 11 directors.
Supervalu is one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the U.S. with annual sales of approximately $17 billion. The company serves customers across the United States through a network of approximately 3,420 stores composed of 1,900 independent stores serviced primarily by the company’s food distribution business, 1,331 Save-A-Lot stores, of which 950 are operated by licensee owners; and 191 traditional retail grocery stores.
