BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons Companies announced today that Jonathan Gardner has been named its new Group Vice President of Strategic Sourcing. In this new position, Gardner will report to Evan Rainwater, Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing and Manufacturing. Additionally, the company has promoted David Nelsen to Group Vice President of Manufacturing.
Gardner joins Albertsons Cos. following a successful nine years at Starbucks, where he began his tenure as Director of Sourcing for IT and Digital. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Global Sourcing and Supplier Relations. In this leadership role, Gardner was responsible for Beverage, Dairy, Packaging, Print Production, and Supply Development teams in Seattle. Additionally, he set strategic and cultural priorities for 200+ sourcing professionals in a matrix organization linking sourcing offices in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Tokyo, Toronto, and Seattle.
Nelsen has been with Albertsons Companies’ manufacturing team since 2001 and has held a variety of leadership roles there. Over the last several years, Nelsen has led the team in expanding manufacturing’s capabilities and product offering to retail including extended shelf life dairy and plant-based products, Icelandic and Greek yogurt, and expanded ice cream products. Nelsen was also instrumental in opening the company’s Hatfield Milk plant.
“Jonathan is an incredible leader who brings a significant amount of experience to our established Strategic Sourcing team, and we look forward to having someone with his expertise and acumen lead the expansion of our Goods Not For Resale (GNFR) efforts,” said Rainwater. “Moreover, David’s manufacturing experience is industry-leading. This combination of leaders will position us to further our efficiencies and create opportunities to invest in our company.”
Susan Morris, EVP and Chief Operations Officer, added, “We’re focused on making moves that improve our productivity and agility so that we can strategically invest in our omnichannel future. GNFR can provide a productivity lift to many areas of our company. Jonathan’s new role will be key to driving that so that we can best serve our 13 operating divisions, 2,200-plus stores, and 34 million customers every day.”
About Albertsons Companies
Albertsons Companies, Inc. is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. Albertsons Cos. operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs, as well as meal kit company Plated based in New York City. Albertsons Cos. is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2018 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the Company gave over $262 million in food and financial support. These efforts helped millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities and veterans outreach.
