The Fresh Market Names Richard Anicetti as President and Chief Executive Officer
GREENSBORO, NC - Nearly 9 months after former CEO Craig Carlock’s exit, The Fresh Market has found a new head honcho in retail veteran Rick Anicetti. The new President and CEO has also been elected to the company’s Board of Directors.
“I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead The Fresh Market,” said Anicetti. “I have admired the company’s brand and unique shopping experience for many years and believe that we have tremendous opportunity to further evolve our offerings and services. I look forward to working with our leadership team and employees to realize the growth potential of The Fresh Market.”
Anicetti is bringing The Fresh Market more than 30 years of experience across all key retail functions at Hannaford Brothers Company and Food Lion LLC. He served for eight years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Food Lion grocery stores, as well as currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors at Number Holdings, Inc., the parent company of 99 Cents Only Stores LLC, where he also served as interim Chief Executive Officer. Anicetti is a Director on the Board of Smart & Final Stores, Inc, but will have to resign from his current board positions as part of his new position at The Fresh Market.
“After an extensive search, we are delighted that Rick Anicetti will join us as the chief executive officer of The Fresh Market,” said Ray Berry, Founder of the company and Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Rick is a highly accomplished food retail executive serving in leadership roles at Hannaford and Delhaize. He and I have spent time together reviewing the competitive marketplace and I am impressed with his knowledge of store operations, as well as his demonstrated vision, innovation and ability to successfully run large grocery organizations. We have every confidence Rick will lead The Fresh Market effectively and creatively and are assured of the company's future under his direction. We remain grateful to Sean Crane for his efforts towards improving our operations in this time of transition.”
According to a press release, the company expects Anicetti to bring exceptional food retail experience and a strong track record of strategic leadership to The Fresh Market. Having led at the charge to change Food Lion from a distribution company to a customer-centric organization and serving as co-CEO of Delhaize America, Anicetti is no stranger to major business model transformation.
“As we look to return the company to growth, we focused on identifying a performance-driven leader with the ability to create a performance-driven culture,” said Rich Noll, Lead Independent Director of The Fresh Market’s Board of Directors. “As we look to return the company to growth, we focused on identifying a performance-driven leader with the ability to create a performance-driven culture.”
Anicetti will be the first CEO hired from outside the company, Noll continued, and The Fresh Market believes that he has the right combination of strategic leadership and personnel skills to lead the company into a new phase of growth.
