CEO Poulin out at struggling Sobeys
The boards of Sobeys and parent company Empire Cos. said Friday that president and CEO Marc Poulin has departed the company, effective immediately, and that Francois Vimard, Empire's CFO and chief administrative officer has been appointed interim CEO.
Sobeys took a $1 billion (U.S.) impairment charge associated with those assets in the fourth quarter.
"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Marc for his efforts and leadership as CEO over the past four years and, prior to that, for the important role he played in developing our Quebec business," Rob Dexter , chairman of Empire, said in a statement.
Vimard will also replace Poulin on the Empire board of directors. The company said it would conduct a search for a new CEO.
Poulin was appointed CEO of Sobeys in 2012, succeeding Bill McEwan. Poulin was lauded for developing Sobeys' operations in Quebec, where he ran its IGA business. He previously served with Unilever Canada, Provigo, Culinar, Desjardins-Laurentian Life Group and Oshawa Group, where he was VP of grocery merchandising when that company was acquired by Sobeys in 1998.
In 2013, Poulin was named CEO of Empire, a holding company controlled by the Sobey family that owns Sobeys and Crombie REIT, an associated real estate investment trust.
At Sobeys, Poulin championed the company's "Good Food for All" campaign highlighting health and wellness and showcased in expanded service stores under the Sobeys Extra and IGA Extra banners. But Safeway proved especially problematic.
A shift to Sobeys ordering and replenishment systems enacted last year before staff were properly trained led to merchandising, pricing and ordering chaos. Although Poulin last week said those initial issues were largely behind it, sales continued to slide both at Safeway and in other parts of company as economic challenges arose.
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