Emile R. Breaux Takes Over As President and CEO of Associated Grocers
BATON ROUGE, LA - J.H. “Jay” Campbell, 20-year-long CEO of the Associated Grocers (A.G.), has now passed the torch to long-time member Emile R. Breaux.
“The opportunity to transition to someone who I think is very capable of managing this business operation, but also to remain in with the company in a very new, very different capacity was exciting to me,” Campbell said, according to The Advocate.
A.G. announced last year that while Campell had not intended on retiring any time soon, Breaux, who has been a member since June of 1994, would succeed him when he chose to do so. Breaux has served as the association’s Vice President of Retail Operations since early last year.
“Jay Campbell made this look really easy,” Breaux told The Advocate’s Timothy Boone. “His ability to assimilate really mind-numbing details and make good business decisions is a talent I need to develop over the next several years.”
According to the association, a lengthy transition process was put in place that allowed Breaux to get familiar with his new responsibilities, and he noted that he and Campbell have a similar train of thought.
“For the most part, the casual observer won’t see any visible differences in the way this company operates,” Breaux said, according to the report.
Campbell’s been with the A.G. team since January of 1972, and told The Advocate that he has two achievements he is especially proud of in his two decades of leadership; helping to enhance the image of the independent grocery store and getting grocers to shift from being buyers of products to sellers.
“It’s all about how to make the customer experience more exciting,” Campbell said. “Some of our competitors do a dadgum good job of making you feel really good when you walk into their stores. Our stores have the ability to do that. We need to embrace that opportunity to make customers feel very special when they walk into the store.”
It is a legacy Breaux looks to continue. The new CEO reported plans to focus on existing businesses the company acquired over the past few years such as Dart Refrigeration and Table Fresh, stating that he wants to maintain A.G.’s strong position and ensure that its employees know the company will continue to be there.
