SKOKIE, Ill. — Topco Associates LLC announced today the retirement of Steven K. Lauer as the company’s President and CEO. Lauer retired after 19 years of distinguished service to the cooperative. Lauer joined Topco in 1993 as Chief Financial Officer and was promoted to President and CEO in 1999.
Under Lauer’s leadership, Topco’s membership has grown to 51 retail, wholesale and foodservice member-owners that collectively represent more than $125 billion in sales. In the most recently completed year, Topco’s member-owners purchased over $11.3 billion in goods and services through Topco’s 10 programs.
"Topco has grown significantly and developed into a leader in the private label industry because of Steve’s leadership," said Steve Smith, Topco's Chairman and K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. President and CEO. "I would like to thank Steve for his many years of service to Topco and Topco's member-owners.”
Randall J. “Randy” Skoda, 49, will serve as Topco's Interim President and CEO. Skoda has been with Topco for more than 10 years in a number of management roles with increasing responsibility. Since 2007, Skoda has served as Executive Vice President, overseeing Topco's program management, product and brand development, innovation and not-for-resale groups. Additionally, Skoda has served as a Director on the NuVal LLC Board of Directors since the company's inception in 2008.
About Topco Associates LLC
Topco Associates LLC is an $11.3 billion, privately held company that provides aggregation, innovation and knowledge management solutions for leading food industry member-owners and customers. Topco leverages the collective volume, knowledge and commitment of these companies to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace by reducing costs and offering winning business-building capabilities. NuVal LLC is a joint venture formed in 2008 by Topco Associates and Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn. NuVal licenses its proprietary food scoring system, which is based on ONQI TM (Overall Nutrition Quality Index) science, to food retailers across the country.
Source: Topco Associates LLC
