Smart & Final Stores has elected Paul N. Hopkins and Kenneth I. Tuchman to its board of directors.
Dave Hirz, president and CEO, said, “I’m pleased that Paul and Ken are joining our board of directors, adding extensive and diverse strategic expertise that will complement our current board and support the Smart & Final leadership team. We look forward to their insights and contributions as we continue our strong store growth program.”
Hopkins is the former chairman of the board of directors of Farmers Group Inc. and CEO of its Americas operations, including Latin America and shared services operations. Hopkins served Farmers Group in a wide range of executive leadership roles from 1978 until his retirement in 2011. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and the advanced executive education program of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, and holds an honorary doctorate from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.
Tuchman currently is vice chairman of Bank of Montreal Capital Markets’ investment and corporate banking groups, a role he has held since 2010. He has extensive experience in the consumer and retail sectors, including previous positions as vice chairman at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, chairman of global banking Americas at Dresdner Kleinwort and co-head of global M&A and head of consumer and retail sectors at Lehman Brothers. Tuchman is a graduate of State University of New York at Buffalo, and holds MBA and J.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Tuchman also serves on the board of Gordmans Stores, a department store chain.
Concurrent with their elections to the board, Hopkins was appointed as a member of the board’s audit committee and the compensation committee, and Tuchman was appointed as a member of the board’s audit committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee. Effective upon these appointments, the previously announced resignation of Richard A. Anicetti from the board and each of its committees became effective, and Dennis T. Gies resigned as a member of the audit committee. Gies continues to serve on the board and as a member of the compensation committee.
Commerce, California-based Smart & Final Stores operates more than 260 grocery and food service stores under the Smart & Final, Smart & Final Extra! and Cash & Carry Smart Foodservice banners in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Idaho, with an additional 15 stores in northern Mexico operated through a joint venture.
