Dive Brief:
- Albertsons announced Wednesday that it has named Meg Whitman to the newly created role of executive chair of the company’s board of directors.
- Albertsons’ chair, Kim Fennebresque, transitioned to lead independent director upon Whitman’s appointment, and the company’s board expanded from 10 to 11 members.
- Whitman’s appointment comes just a few months after Albertsons started a broad restructuring plan in response to disappointing first-quarter results in July.
Dive Insight:
In addition to her board responsibilities, Whitman will serve as an operations and strategic advisor to CEO Susan Morris as Albertsons works to sharpen its strategy and increase profitable growth. The announcement noted that Whitman’s experience will be particularly helpful as Morris continues to streamline the company’s operating structure around artificial intelligence technologies and a more consistent customer experience online and in stores.
Whitman’s board member position took effect Tuesday, per an Albertsons Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Her term will expire at the company’s 2027 annual meeting of stockholders or until a successor is elected.
Whitman brings more than 40 years of experience to Albertsons, including serving as president and CEO of eBay for a decade and as CEO of Quibi, a Los Angeles-based entertainment startup. Whitman also served as CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and as president, CEO and chair of Hewlett-Packard Company, according to the press release.
She currently serves on the corporate boards of AI cloud-computing company CoreWeave, fleet management company Motive Technologies and geothermal energy company Fervo Energy.
Outside of the business world, Whitman served as United States Ambassador to Kenya from 2022 to 2024 and was the Republican Party’s nominee for California governor in 2010, the announcement noted.
“At this pivotal moment, I’m thrilled Meg is joining our board as Executive Chair,” Morris said in a statement. “As we focus on moving faster and competing more effectively, Meg’s strategic judgment, operating discipline and technology expertise will be invaluable. I look forward to partnering closely in the months and years ahead.”
Whitman’s appointment comes at a trying time for Albertsons. The company reported negative comparable-store sales growth and flat overall sales during its most recent quarter, and it has lowered expectations for its financial performance for the rest of fiscal 2026. In response to these lackluster results, Albertsons announced in July a new regional operating model that consolidates 11 divisions into four regions and unveiled plans to centralize its center store merchandising. At the time, Albertsons also announced that President and CFO Sharon McCollam plans to retire later this year and then serve in an advisory role with the grocer until its fiscal year ends in February.
