United Natural Foods, Inc. has appointed Erin Horvath chief supply chain transformation officer, a new role in which she'll collaborate across functions to help build the company’s transformation agenda and future capabilities, drive value creation for shareholders, and create an improving experience for customers and suppliers, according to UNFI.
She begins her role on October 17 and will report to CEO Sandy Douglas.
“Erin has a wealth of experience, including a unique combination of strategy execution, operations, customer analytics, and software implementation,” said Douglas in a statement. “Throughout her career she has successfully worked across teams and departments and I’m looking forward to seeing how her experience and fresh thinking can best support Mark Bushway, our Chief Supply Chain Officer, and Louis Martin, our Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, as they partner together to drive positive results.”
Since assuming the CEO role in August 2021, Douglas has repositioned the company’s senior leadership team and helped the company focus on key operational priorities designed to better support its customers, suppliers, associates, and the planet. The addition of Horvath to the leadership team will help to create a more efficient, expansive, and high-quality food supply network.
“UNFI has a tremendous history and foundation in place, coupled with an exciting growth roadmap that is both aggressive and achievable,” said Horvath in a statement. “The food industry, like many industries, is experiencing significant change. UNFI’s focus on, and investment in, advancing technologies and transforming operations is a testament to leadership’s commitment to a long-term strategy that will best support customers and suppliers within this evolving landscape.”
Horvath will oversee UNFI’s fulfillment network transformation, as well as lead automation initiatives, including the recently announced automation agreement with Symbotic, an automation company.
During her tenure at AmerisourceBergen, Horvath most recently served as chief transformation officer with a focus on accelerating the company’s high-growth, high-value subsidiaries, strategic partnerships, and mergers and acquisition activities. She also has extensive experience leading AmerisourceBergen’s distribution network in roles as president of overseeing a team of over 5,000 associates and managing over 50 distribution centers. During this time, she designed a five-year distribution and customer operations strategy, led the building of several new state-of-the-art greenfield distribution centers, and created a diverse, cross-functional, and geographically dispersed team focused on optimizing the company’s investment in its warehouse automation.
Horvath serves as a board member for the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation and recently completed service for Healthcare Ready where she served as a board member for four years.
Related: UNFI to Implement Symbotic Warehouse Automation; UNFI Strengthens Shoppers Banner