Wakefern Food Corp. has appointed a new chief sales officer to its leadership team.
Darren Caudill, who joins the cooperative this week, brings over four decades of experience working in both grocery wholesale and retail. He will head up center store, own brands, fresh and prepared foods departments along with digital and innovation, marketing, merchandising, and sales and analytics divisions.
“We’re excited to welcome Darren to Wakefern. His proven track record of success in sales and marketing, combined with his extensive experience in grocery retail and wholesale, will allow us to continually innovate and elevate the in-store and online customer experiences we deliver,” said Wakefern President Mike Stigers in a statement.
Caudill comes to Wakefern after spending the last decade at Cub Foods, Supervalu, and UNFI, where he was a key leader and, most recently, senior vice president of merchandising, marketing, and sales.
He began his career at The Kroger Company where his experience lead him from a store manager’s position through roles as a category manager, merchandiser in the grocery and meat divisions, pricing strategy, and loyalty marketing.
A graduate of The Ohio State University, Caudill has served as a member of the board for Minnesota Grocers, Kemba Columbus Credit Union, and as a member of the Advisory Board of Directors for the Institute for Research in Marketing at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.
Related: Target Names COO; USDA Appoints Senior Staffers.