Albertsons Companies announced today that Juliette Pryor has been named executive vice president and general counsel and will join the company’s senior leadership team, effective June 15, 2020. Pryor joins Albertsons from Cox Enterprises, where she serves as general counsel and corporate secretary, a role she has held for nearly four years. Before that, she spent 11 years at US Foods, including serving as general counsel and chief compliance officer.
Pryor succeeds Bob Gordon, who announced he is stepping down and transitioning to retirement after over 20 years with Safeway and Albertsons collectively. Gordon, who came to Safeway from Pillsbury Winthrop in 1999, previously served as the chief governance officer and general counsel of Safeway Inc.
“On behalf of our team and the board of directors, I sincerely thank Bob for his contributions to the formative years of Albertsons Companies since the merger in 2015, and for guiding Safeway’s Legal team for fifteen years prior to that,” said Vivek Sankaran, president and chief executive officer. “Bob has been a tremendous asset to our team, and we wish him well.”
At Albertsons, Pryor will lead the company’s corporate governance and compliance functions as well as matters related to financial reporting, M&A, labor and employment, real estate, litigation, data privacy and government affairs.
“We are excited to welcome Juliette to our leadership team,” said Sankaran. “Juliette brings a solution-oriented mindset to legal matters and her proactive, collaborative approach reflects the way the Albertsons team works. We look forward to benefitting from her extensive experience and deep legal expertise.”
Before serving as the general counsel of Cox Enterprises and earlier US Foods, Pryor was at the law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. She had previously been general counsel and corporate secretary for e.spire Communications, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed telecommunications company. Earlier in her career, she served as legal advisor to the vice chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and as in-house counsel at IBM Corporation. Pryor received a B.A. from Fisk University and a J.D. from Georgetown University, where she also received a M.S. from the school of foreign service.
Pryor said, “In this unprecedented time, Albertsons is demonstrating how foundational the grocery industry is in keeping America going. I have always respected the Company’s commitment to providing exceptional service to its customers and communities, as it has grown its business substantially. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help in managing through this period and delivering success into the future.”
United Natural Foods Inc. announced that it has named Jim Gehr as its new chief supply chain officer effective May 4. In this role, Gehr will lead an organization of more than 12,000 associates working across four regions and 59 distribution centers, delivering 1.3 billion cases annually to UNFI’s more than 30,000 customers. He will immediately focus on UNFI’s warehouse logistics while further advancing UNFI’s automation investments, distribution center expansions and network optimization. Gehr will report to Eric Dorne, UNFI’s chief operating officer.
“Jim is a highly-regarded supply chain executive who brings operational excellence experience to UNFI along with a proven track record of building and motivating teams,” said Dorne. “He has a history of creating and growing business opportunities, establishing sustainable processes, and developing a strong culture of continuous improvement that drives value throughout the supply chain and, ultimately, to customers. His unique experiences – from integrating emerging technologies to effectively utilizing data analytics – will enhance UNFI’s long-term operating model and help accelerate our innovation. Jim is an engaging leader and we’re excited to welcome him to UNFI.”
Gehr joins UNFI after having spent the past 29 years at DHL Supply Chain where, since 2004, he has served as president, retail North America. In this role, Gehr oversaw the operations for 72 facilities providing store, eCommerce, and multi-channel fulfillment as well as import center deconsolidation, return center operations, and store delivery across national networks for more than 30 major North American retailers. While continuing to lead DHL’s Retail organization, Gehr also assumed leadership of the transportation organization, serving as president, transportation North America from 2013 to 2016. Prior to joining DHL, Gehr was a senior manager at Ernst & Young in Harrisburg, PA.
Gehr received his BSBA in Accounting from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and his CPA from Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
As announced earlier this year, Paul Green, UNFI’s current chief supply chain officer, will take on a new role as president, UNFI Fresh, where he will oversee the company’s meat and produce business and will report directly to UNFI chairman and CEO Steven L. Spinner.
“I want to thank Paul for the tremendous job he’s done overseeing our supply chain throughout many years of rapid growth and change,” said Dorne. “I truly appreciate Paul’s leadership, exemplary results, partnership and friendship, and know he will do an amazing job overseeing our Fresh business.”
Daniel Gourdin has been named zone sales director for Pepsico’s Northern Virginia zone. He will be responsible for 10-20 district sales managers and 150-250 sales associates.
Gourdin joined Frito-Lay in June of 2007 as a district sales leader in the Northern Virginia zone, and has gained many critical experiences throughout his career. He was promoted to senior account development manager for the company’s Baltimore zone in 2009. In 2011, he transitioned to the safety and staffing leader role for Washington DC. Then in 2012, he was promoted to sales zone supervisor for Baltimore before transferring to Northern Virginia. In 2015, he was promoted to key account manager for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Gourdin’s most notable accomplishments include: The 2009 DSL Ring of Honor, the 2010 ACDM of the Year Award, the 2014 Top ZBM of the Year and Cost to Serve Leader Award, the 2014 Ewing Award for the Mid-Atlantic, and the 2017 Safeway Eastern Vendor of the Year Award.
Gourdin graduated from Hampton University in 2007 with a bachelor of science in business management and a concentration in business marketing.