Whole Foods Market Inc. co-founder John Mackey, who opened his first store in 1980 with a staff of just 19 people and built the chain into an organic powerhouse, is now taking full responsibility for restoring the company to glory.
The retailer named Mackey as its sole chief executive officer on Wednesday, ending a dual-CEO role that he shared with Walter Robb for the past six years. In taking the step, the board is trusting that the eccentric Mackey can figure out how to make Whole Foods fresh again after its worst sales slump in at least a decade.
Mackey, 63, is a libertarian who has railed against Obamacare and minimum-wage laws, putting him at odds with some Whole Foods customers and employees. But he’s also a vegan who pioneered the organic-food movement and briefly turned Whole Foods into the second-most-valuable food retailer in the U.S. — behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc. — in the fall of 2013.
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