<i>…with brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…</i>
• Kroger yesterday announced that Pam Matthew, president of its Central Division, will be retiring after 40 years with the company, and will be succeeded by Colleen Juergensen, the current president of its Dillons division.
In turn, Juergensen will be succeeded by Steve Dreher, currently the vice president of the Dillons division.
• In the UK, the <i>BBC</i> reports that Sainsbury CEO Mike Coupe will retire later this year and be succeeded by the head of Sainsbury's retail and operations, Simon Roberts.
The transition is scheduled to take place in May.
The story points out that Coupe "has led Sainsbury's for almost six years, during which time he oversaw a failed attempt to merge with rival supermarket Asda … His exit was announced a day after Sainsbury's said it was cutting 'hundreds' of management roles to reduce costs."
<i>It sounds from all the coverage that folks in the UK believe that Coupe may have overstayed his welcome a bit. Well, I'd just like to say that Coupe - to whom I do not believe I am related - is welcome us at family reunions, if he's looking for a port in the storm.</i>
