Dive Brief:
- United Natural Foods, Inc. announced Thursday it has made multiple changes to its C-suite, including promoting Giorgio “Matteo” Tarditi, the company’s president and chief financial officer, to president and chief operating officer.
- Alfredo Luchini will join the company from Carrier Climate Solutions Americas to serve as CFO. The company said that Louis Martin, currently chief commercial officer and president of conventional grocery products, will serve only in the former role. Tarditi’s, Luchini’s and Martin’s new roles all take effect in early August. Mark Bushway, chief supply chain officer and president of natural, organic, specialty and fresh products, will leave UNFI on Jan. 1, 2027.
- “These moves reflect the strength of our team and our commitment to aligning our leadership structure with the next chapter of UNFI’s value creation strategy,” CEO Sandy Douglas said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
UNFI cast the executive changes as central to its ongoing efforts to better serve customers and suppliers while also improving its operations and financial results.
As COO, Tarditi, who joined UNFI in 2024, will be responsible for UNFI’s product sales organizations, enterprise customer relationships, supply chain operations, technology and lean implementation.
The grocery distributor and retailer praised Tarditi’s performance as CFO, noting that he has “demonstrated operational depth and discipline that consistently improved UNFI’s financial performance and customer service capabilities.” UNFI added that moving sales, operations and technology under Tarditi will better align its operations with its customers' needs.
UNFI said that Luchini, Tarditi’s incoming replacement as CFO, will bring “global finance experience across complex organizations,” adding that he has held key positions in transformation, integration and financial planning.
Tarditi and Luchini both formerly worked at General Electric and served concurrently in high-level financial roles in the company’s renewable energy unit between 2019 and 2021, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
As chief commercial officer, Martin will concentrate on strengthening multiple aspects of UNFI’s business, including its conventional and natural merchandising capabilities, supplier relationships and private brands, the company said. Martin served as UNFI’s president of wholesale until becoming chief commercial officer and president of conventional grocery products in early 2025.
Tarditi, Luchini and Martin will report to Douglas.
UNFI is no stranger to realigning its leadership structure. In 2019, the company adjusted its leadership structure to integrate operations with newly acquired wholesaler Supervalu, and in 2022, made similar moves also tied to “value creation.”
In April, the company named its first chief digital services officer.
UNFI has been striving in recent quarters to move on from high-profile shocks, including unforeseen forecasting problems several years ago that spurred it to launch a “transformation agenda” that remains in progress. UNFI also endured a costly cyberattack in 2025, which caused it to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
In December, Douglas told investors that the company had made improvements but was still a considerable way from meeting its goals. UNFI recorded improved profitability in its third fiscal quarter, but still saw a drop in sales. The company is on track to return to “low single-digit” sales growth during fiscal 2027, Tarditi said during its most recent earnings call.
