United Natural Foods Inc. today elevated two senior leaders to drive its customer-centric strategy and transformation agenda. Erin Horvath has been appointed chief operating officer and Louis Martin has been named president of wholesale.
UNFI recently outlined the core tenets of its four-part transformation program including network automation and optimization; commercial value creation; digital offering enhancement; and infrastructure unification and modernization.
Horvath and Martin will join president Chris Testa who oversees UNFI’s Services platform to leverage the combined knowledge of industry veterans and new leaders and form a team of operators with experience with these types of improvement programs.
“This operational leadership team, made up of UNFI veterans and new leaders, is equipped to help us accelerate improvement in our customer and supplier experience, our operating efficiency, and digital and physical infrastructure,” said UNFI CEO Sandy Douglas in a statement. “With our transformation plan nearly complete and the realignment of our leadership teams in place, we are well positioned to become a unique value creator for our customers, suppliers, associates, and shareholders.”
As COO, Horvath will be responsible for leading the project management that supports the improvement plan, enhancing UNFI’s legacy integration and physical infrastructure, and ensuring successful implementation of the digital, technology, and automation initiatives. Chief supply chain officer Mark Bushway will report to Horvath and partner with her to drive improved process and standardization across the supply chain.
Horvath joined UNFI in October 2022 after more than 17 years in senior leadership roles with AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a global pharmaceutical wholesale company. She brings expertise in driving transformation initiatives in large-scale wholesale distribution systems.
Louis Martin joined UNFI in March 2022 and has been crucial in the development of UNFI’s strategy and transformation agenda, as well as in spearheading the creation and early-stage development of the Company’s digital roadmap. Steve Dietz, chief customer officer, will report to Martin and continue to lead UNFI’s field sales and merchandising organizations with a renewed focus on the company’s regional and independently owned customers.
Before joining UNFI, Martin served for 15 years in a variety of leadership positions with The Coca-Cola Company, including overseeing the Global Walmart Customer team, where he built leading customer service capabilities. Martin will lead the evolution of UNFI’s customer-centric strategy by integrating national and regional customer organizations, revenue growth management, and commercial planning teams.
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