Our Leadership

Vivek joined Albertsons Companies, Inc. in April 2019 and serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Vivek most recently served as CEO of PepsiCo Foods North America. Prior to that, he served as the company's president and chief operating officer, a position he was named to in 2016. Over his ten-year career at PepsiCo, in addition to leading Frito-Lay, Vivek also served as the chief commercial officer for PepsiCo North America, Chief Customer Officer of Frito-Lay, and as the Senior Vice President of Strategy for PepsiCo.

Before joining PepsiCo in 2009, Vivek was a partner at McKinsey and Company, where he served various Fortune 100 companies bringing a strong focus on strategy and operations. He co-led the firm’s North American purchasing and supply management practice and was on the leadership team of the North American retail practice.

Vivek has an MBA from the University of Michigan, a master's degree in manufacturing from Georgia Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai.

Sharon McCollam currently serves as President and Chief Financial Officer of Albertsons Companies, Inc. In this role, McCollam is an integral leader in the development of the company’s growth and transformation strategies. McCollam oversees all aspects of corporate finance, strategy, and business development, as well as information technology, supply chain operations, and property development. McCollam joined Albertsons in September 2021.

McCollam previously served as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative and Chief Financial Officer of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY). In this role, McCollam has been broadly recognized as the co-pilot of the company’s Renew Blue transformation which has been regarded as one of the foremost omni-channel turnarounds in the retail sector. McCollam served in this role from 2012 to 2016 and remained as a senior advisor to the company until 2017.

Prior to Best Buy, McCollam served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM). McCollam joined the company in 2000, was promoted to the role of Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer in 2006 and was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2010. McCollam retired from Williams-Sonoma in 2012.

Anuj Dhanda graduated from the University of Delhi with a degree in Commerce and received his MBA and Ph.D. in Finance from Rutgers University. He began his career as a consultant with KPMG in Bahrain in 1984, and then worked at JP Morgan Chase before joining PNC Financial Services Group where he rose to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. He joined Giant Eagle as CIO in 2013. Dhanda brings extensive background in merger integration, digital marketing and commerce, systems modernization, and data security.

Dhanda joined Albertsons Companies in December 2015. He was inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame in 2019.

Omer Gajial is responsible for accelerating growth in our Digital and Pharmacy businesses and expanding our health and wellness solutions. Since joining the company in 2020, Omer has focused on building a talented and diverse pharmacy team that is committed to supporting a healthy future for everyone in the communities we serve. In 2022, Omer added Albertsons Cos. Digital Customer experience and Ecommerce to his responsibilities, taking a customer-first approach to providing engaging digital and in-store shopping experiences.

Before joining Albertsons Cos., Omer was the General Manager for Amazon Marketplace business, across Hardlines, Softlines, and Consumables categories, for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In this role, he led sales, business development, product, program, and fulfilment teams to launch strategic sellers into North America. Prior to Amazon, Omer was with PepsiCo for fifteen years. He started as a Franchise Manager in the West Asia Business Unit and later held several marketing and business development roles in Dubai. Omer worked in Corporate Strategy at PepsiCo’s headquarters in NY and was named VP Global Strategy.

Omer graduated with a BE in Civil Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology, Risalpur, and received an MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell University.

Susan Morris has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Albertsons Companies, Inc. since January 2018. In this role, she leads the company’s retail operations, overseeing more than 2,200 stores across 34 states. Albertsons is a $76.7 billion company employing over 290,000 employees.

Susan has more than 38 years’ experience in the retail grocery industry and has held a variety of leadership roles across the company. Her experience includes serving as Executive Vice President of Regional Operations; Division President in two markets; and various other roles across merchandising and operations. Susan began her retail career in high school as a customer service clerk at Albertsons in Denver, Colorado.

Susan is a graduate of Colorado State University. She has been recognized numerous times for her leadership in the grocery industry, including receiving both a Top Women in Grocery and a Trailblazer Award from Progressive Grocer. Locally, she was named a CEO of Influence in 2014 and was a Tribute to Women in Industry (Idaho) honoree.

Internally, Susan is the executive sponsor for the Albertsons Companies Pride Alliance and serves as Board Chair for the Albertsons Companies Foundation. She also serves on the board of the Food Marketing Institute and the San Francisco District 12 Federal Reserve Bank board.

Juliette Pryor is an accomplished corporate executive and corporate board member. Juliette has served as Albertsons’ EVP and General Counsel since June of 2020. Before joining Albertsons, she served as the General Counsel of Cox Enterprises and spent 11 years as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of US Foods. Juliette also worked at the law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for NASDAQ-listed telecommunications company, e.spire Communications. Earlier in her career, she served as legal advisor to the Vice Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and as in-house counsel at IBM Corporation. Juliette received a B.A. from Fisk University and a J.D. from Georgetown University, where she also received a M.S. from the school of foreign service. Juliette also serves as a director of Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC).

Evan Rainwater is the Executive Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing at Albertsons Companies. Evan’s responsibilities span across Albertsons 20 manufacturing plants, 22 distribution centers, procurement for products sold in our stores, and the enterprise sourcing organization. These responsibilities consist of budgetary, quality and service levels for the entire supply chain enterprise. He creates and executes key strategies and tactics embedded in a lean operating culture and exhibits a relentless focus on innovation and retail success. Prior to joining Albertsons Companies, Evan held senior management roles in both manufacturing and logistics at Winn Dixie, Rubbermaid and Mobil Oil. Evan currently sits on the advisory board for Cypress Semiconductor, where he advises the executive team on supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, and lean implementation strategies for continuous improvement.

Jennifer Saenz leads all areas of merchandising and marketing for Albertsons Companies. In this role, Jennifer and her team are continuously working to raise the bar by anticipating customer needs and offering goods and services that delight shoppers. Jennifer is also responsible for ACI’s award-winning Own Brands program and strengthening our relationships with brand partners. 

Jennifer has extensive global industry experience and a proven track record of driving growth through marketing, analytics, and product innovation, all grounded in a deep understanding of the consumer. Her career includes 15 years at PepsiCo, including serving as Global Chief Marketing Officer and President, Global Foods, with responsibility for the $30 billion PepsiCo Foods portfolio. Prior to that, she served as SVP & Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Foods North America, where she accelerated growth and drove innovation for the $16 billion snacking portfolio.

Jennifer has also been recognized for her professional accomplishments through a number of awards, including Fast Company’s Most Creative People in 2018, Brand Innovators’ Top 100 Women in Marketing in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and AdWeek’s Brand Genius Award in 2017. Jennifer graduated from The Goizueta School of Business at Emory University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and received an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mike Theilmann is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Albertsons Companies.

Mike joined Albertsons Companies in 2019, which was in the beginning stages of defining a strategic transformation that would ultimately lead the company to an IPO in 2020. In leading the Human Resources function, Mike is the company’s resident culture authority and cheerleader, and his work encompasses diversity and inclusion; talent development, acquisition and engagement; leadership development; learning and capability development; compensation and benefits; organizational effectiveness; HR operations; labor relations; and communications and public affairs. Mike and his team also partner across all areas of the business to advance the company’s culture.

Prior to joining Albertsons Cos., Mike was with Heidrick & Struggles, having joined the firm in 2017 as a Partner in their Consumer Markets Practice. Soon after, he was promoted to Global Practice Managing Partner of the Human Resources Officers Practice, working with clients to ensure that HR leaders and their teams were equipped with the right qualifications to lead and manage in this rapidly changing global environment. Prior to his time with Heidrick & Struggles, Mike had accumulated more than 25 years of global experience across retail, hospitality, consumer goods, and venture capital. During his career, he served as Group Executive Vice President of J.C. Penney, leading human resources, store operations, supply chain management, and communications. Prior to joining J.C. Penney in 2005, Mike had been with Yum Brands and its predecessor PepsiCo since 1993, serving in senior human resources positions throughout the world for Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Yum corporate and the Yum International division. Widely recognized as a leader in customer and employee satisfaction, Yum was named the #1 Place to Work in Dallas in 2003 and #2 in 2004 by The Dallas Business Journal and is one of Fortune Magazine's "Most Admired Companies" in America and "50 Best Companies for Minorities." Before joining Yum, Mike worked in Human Resources at Diageo and began his career as an actuary at Towers Perrin.

Mike serves on the board of two venture-backed technology companies; Catapult Health and Leapyear Technologies. He also serves on the board of Network of Executive Women. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, Mike also holds an MS in Physics from the University of Nebraska.

Rob joined Safeway in 1990 as a courtesy clerk and worked his way through several Store Management Positions throughout Safeway's British Columbia, Canada operations. He was promoted to Director of Retail Support in Vancouver, BC in 2005. In 2009, Rob was promoted to District Manager in Anchorage, Alaska, a position he held until 2015 when he accepted the role of Area Vice President of Operations in the Seattle Division. In 2016, he was appointed Senior Vice President of Operations for the Seattle Division. In March 2020, Rob was promoted to President of the Shaw's and Star Market Division. In addition to his many retail roles, Rob holds a Masters of Business Administration, Executive Management & Management Consulting from Royal Roads University.

Todd began his career in 1981 as a Courtesy Clerk in the Seattle Division. After graduating from Western Washington University, Todd progressed to Store Manager and later to District Manager in the Seattle Division. In 2005 Todd was promoted to Vice President of Retail Operations in Safeway’s Denver Division.

In 2009, Todd took on the role of Vice President of Marketing and Execution until he was asked to take on the position Corporate Vice President of Retail Operations in Pleasanton, California.

In 2014, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations in the Nor Cal Division. Todd assumed that same role for a brief time in the Portland Division prior to being promoted to President of the Denver Division in April of 2016.

John began his career with Albertsons in 1979 as a courtesy clerk in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He held assorted positions of increasing responsibility throughout the store, including Store Director at five different store locations prior to his promotion to the division office.

Over the years, John took on various roles in several divisions including Denver, Portland, Southern and Intermountain. His functions included District Manager, Grocery Sales Manager, Division Vice President of Marketing Merchandising and Corporate Vice President of Grocery Sales. Most recently, John was Senior Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising for Denver Division, before being chosen for his current position of Division President of the Intermountain Division in October 2017.

Kevin returned to the Albertsons Companies in May 2017 as the Grocery Sales Manager in Northern California and then moved to Southern California division in July of 2018 to oversee the sales and operations of the 26 Pavilions stores. With 42 years of experience in the industry, Kevin has worked primarily in the Sales and Marketing areas with Albertsons, Safeway, American Stores and Raley’s over the past 25 years. He serves on the Western Association of Food Chains Advisory Council.

With more than 36 years of grocery experience under his belt, Sidney Hopper returned to The United Family in October of 2018, as president of the company he joined in 1980 as a sacker. A Lubbock-area native, Hopper began studying business

administration while working part-time for United, but was quickly offered a management position with the company. He rapidly moved through the United ranks to manage stores in Lubbock, Amarillo and Vernon, eventually serving as the

regional vice-president for the Amarillo region, before being promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer. In 2014, he was tapped to serve as president of Randalls Supermarkets in Houston, where he remained until returning home to the South Plains as president of The United Family. In March 2021, his role as president expanded to absorb all the duties of the CEO as that position was eliminated with the retirement of Robert Taylor.

Hopper has been an active volunteer in the communities he served, including Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce and United Way. While in Houston, Sidney co-chaired the Souper Bowl of Caring, a statewide initiative among grocery stores to

supply food banks with donated food, and he served on the Better Business Bureau board. Hopper was recently named to the Covenant Foundation Board and to lead the Lubbock Citywide Branding Campaign. He is also a board member for Lubbock Lemonade Day, an initiative to teach entrepreneurism to third-graders, and he chaired the West Texas Walk for Babies for the March of Dimes in 2021. Hopper holds an executive MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas. He is married to Marcie Hopper, and they have four daughters and eight grandchildren.

Carl Huntington began his supermarket career in 2003 as a clerk in the Southwest Division. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Northern Arizona University. Carl has taken on a variety of roles in merchandising, marketing, and operations. He is an innovative leader with a passion to develop successful teams to deliver results.

In 2017 he served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising for the Southwest Division. His customer centric, data driven approach successfully set them apart in a highly competitive marketplace. In 2019 he transitioned to the Senior Vice President of Operations. His ability to lead teams, simplify processes and develop efficient routines helped build strong core competencies.

Most recently, he led the creation of Our Winning Model as the SVP of National Merchandising, creating a unified merchandising team that allows us to speak with one voice to our suppliers.

Wes most recently served as the Senior Vice President, Marketing and Merchandising for the Southern Division before taking on the role of Division President.

Prior to his relocation to the Southern Division in 2020, Wes held the position of Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer for the United Division since January 2010.

Wes started with the United team in 1979, serving in many management positions including Store Director and District Manager. Wes was also the Director of Grocery for five years, Vice President, Center Store for two years, and was instrumental in United’s growth in key categories in addition to playing a vital role in the launch of many new store brands and new store formats such as Market Street. Wes also has served the United Division as Senior Vice President of Sales and Merchandising, Chief Merchandising Officer and EVP/Chief Operating Officer of the Specialty Division.

Wes holds a Master of Business Administration degree from The University of Texas at Dallas.

Michelle Larson, a veteran of the supermarket industry is President of the Southwest Division overseeing 23,000 associates and 200 Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons, locations in five states including Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Throughout her career Larson has served in a variety of roles including marketing, operations, floral, service deli and meat. Known as a dynamic leader with a passion to succeed, Larson is well known as an esteemed, innovative industry expert. Previous to her current role she served as the Southwest Division’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising in 2016, and then was appointed as Shaw’s Division President in July 2018.

Jim Perkins has spent more than 30 years as a highly successful and pacesetting leader in the grocery industry. Jim’s passion for the grocery business began in 1982 at Albertsons as a courtesy clerk, and he developed into a key leader for the company in several areas of the country.

He served as Vice President of Operations for Albertsons Inc., and Director of Operations for Albertsons LLC’s Southern Division. Jim joined Giant Food of Maryland LLC as a Regional Vice President, returning to Albertsons as President of ACME Markets in 2013. He was named Executive Vice President of Operations, East Region, in April

2015, Executive Vice President, West Region, in 2016, and returned to lead the ACME division in June 2017.

In October 2017, Jim was also named President of the Eastern division in addition to serving as President of ACME, now leading teams serving customers at more than 290 stores in eight states and Washington, D.C. Jim also serves as Executive Vice President, Retail Operations and Special Projects for Albertsons.

Jim received his Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, from the University of Phoenix.

Karl Schroeder is the President of the Northern California Division for Safeway. Prior to this position, he was President of the Seattle Division for Safeway and Albertsons.

Karl joined Safeway as a courtesy clerk in the Phoenix Division in 1976, and quickly moved up the ranks, earning his first store manager position in 1982. He became District Manager in Metro Phoenix in 1990. Subsequent district manager assignments placed him throughout Northern California and Hawaii prior to being named Vice President, Retail Operations for the Northern California Division.

In 2002, he was promoted to Senior Vice President, Corporate Retail Operations, and named President of the company’s 178-store Eastern Division. During his tenure in the Eastern Division, he was active on the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

In 2004, he returned to California as President of the Northern California Division. At the end of 2014 Karl was promoted to Senior Vice President of Corporate Merchandising for the new “Go Forward” Albertsons and Safeway Companies.

Karl served as the President and Chairman of the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC) during 2010 and now serves as an Advisor on the Executive Board. Karl also has served on Executive Board for the Junior Achievement of Northern California the Executive Board for the California Business Roundtable and a Board member on the Bay Area Council.

Karl earned an associate’s degree from Mesa Community College in Arizona and a certification in Food Industry Management from the University of Southern California. He recently completed his Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership & Behavior at the University of San Francisco. At USF, he was presented the “Dean’s Medal of Excellence” from the McLaren School of Management in May of 2012. Karl was awarded the Executive of the Year honor from the USC Marshal School of Business in May of 2013. On October 15, 2014, Karl was awarded the Illuminator’s Torch Award.

Karl lives in Walnut Creek, CA with his wife, Aurelia. They have three adult sons…all college graduates, one married, and three adorable grandsons. An avid runner and cyclist, he has participated in several endurance races throughout the region. Among his latest ventures is raising a small vineyard on his California property that produces Cabernet which is bottled and labeled in honor of his family members.

Brad is an accomplished retail leader who began his career with Albertsons in Salt Lake City in 1983. He worked through store positions of increasing responsibility until being promoted to Store Director, a position he held for several years. Following that, Brad was promoted to District Manager and served in two divisions, Houston and Northern California. In 2004, Brad was asked to lead Albertsons Six Sigma efforts for the Intermountain West Division.

After the sale of Albertsons Inc.’s assets to SUPERVALU, Brad was promoted to Director of Operations in Eugene, Oregon. He then went on to become Vice President of Operations for the 188 store Intermountain West Division in Boise. Brad served as the lead District Manager for the Intermountain Division when he was promoted to Vice President of Operations for the Jewel-Osco Division in 2014. In March 2015, Brad returned to Boise to lead the Intermountain Division in the role of Division President. In November 2017, Brad was promoted to Division President for Safeway Stores in the Northern California Division. In March of 2021, Brad was asked to lead the Safeway and Albertsons store teams, in the Seattle Division.

Mike Withers began his career with Albertsons in 1976 in Boise. Like many of the company’s executives, he started as a courtesy clerk and gradually worked his way up until he was running his own store. He served as district manager in both Washington and Florida and was eventually promoted to Big Sky Division President with responsibilities for store operations in Montana and North Dakota, a role he also held in both the Florida and Portland divisions. Since 2006, Mike has served as Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising for the Florida and Southern divisions, and President of the Southern and Jewel Osco divisions.

Mike was named EVP, East Operations in April 2017. In October 2019, he returned to Jewel-Osco to take over the role of Division President.