Dive Brief:
- PCC Community Markets announced on Friday that Krishnan Srinivasan has taken over as its new president and CEO.
- Srinivasan transitioned to the top role after serving as the Seattle-based co-op's chief financial officer for nearly four years. In addition to his time at PCC, he has experience serving in high-level financial and strategy positions at Lyft, Amazon and Microsoft to his responsibilities leading the co-op.
- Srinivasan is the co-op's seventh president in its nearly 70-year history. He steps into the role that Suzy Monford abruptly exited last summer after a short tenure leading the company.
Dive Insight:
PCC has chosen a new chief who is already well-versed in the company's performance and business strategy.
Srinivasan's appointment follows short tenures by the co-op's previous two CEOs. Kroger veteran Monford stepped down in August after just eight months serving as CEO and president. Her predecessor, Cate Hardy, left PCC after just over five years to become the chief executive of The Wine Group.
Monford faced controversy when she opposed the city's $4-an-hour hazard pay ordinance at the start of last year. The co-op reversed its stance and implemented a $4 hourly bonus to all hourly workers across its fleet.
Brad Brown, a former PCC board member who served as interim CEO before Monford’s appointment, temporarily led the company while the board of trustees conducted its search. Monford is currently heading up Seattle-based global retail consultancy firm Food Sport International, which she founded last August, per her LinkedIn.
In announcing Srinivasan's appointment to the top roles, PCC noted he has helped the company navigate challenges posed by the pandemic and supported the opening of four locations. The co-op also highlighted his more than 25 years of leadership experience "with a strong track record of delivering results in building and scaling operating processes, leading financial planning, and driving business strategy."
Before coming to PCC, Srinivasan was CFO at Remitly, a Seattle-based financial services company, for 2.5 years, and before that, he served as head of product and strategic advisor to the CEO at Rover.com, an online marketplace for pet care services, according to his LinkedIn.
Prior to that, he served as vice president of finance at Lyft for most of 2014 and spent nearly eight years at Amazon, where he worked his way up from finance director to CFO of the company's operations in Japan and then in India. As Amazon India's CFO, he helped lead the company's online marketplace expansion and worked with the leadership team on hiring and development.
"It has been a rare privilege to serve the co-op as its CFO, and I am honored by the Board’s decision to entrust the future direction of PCC in my care as CEO," Srinivasan said in a statement, noting he will work with staff, co-op members and neighbors on a "strategic plan for PCC's long-term future."
Srinivasan noted he and his family became members of the co-op more than two decades ago.
The co-op's board of trustees led the five-month search with support from co-op leadership and consultancy firm Korn Ferry, per the announcement.
