Retail veteran named president and CEO

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Southeastern Grocers said on Thursday that it has appointed Anthony Hucker to the posts of president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Hucker has been serving in those roles on an interim basis since July 1.

Anthony Hucker

“We are pleased to welcome Anthony as CEO of Southeastern Grocers as he was always part of our succession plan,” the company said in a statement. “He has played an integral role in our successful transformation over the last 18 months and we are positive he is the right leader to guide SEG. Anthony brings significant industry expertise, and we are confident that he will continue to improve the business to the benefit of our dedicated customers across the Southeast.”

Before joining Southeastern Grocers, Hucker served as president and COO of St. Louis-based Schnucks. Before that he was president of Landover, Md.-based Giant Food, and served on the executive board of Ahold USA.

Prior to joining Giant Food, Anthony spent seven years at Wal-Mart in a variety of leadership positions, internationally and domestically. He began as the chief information officer of the Americas, formed the retailer’s global format development division and was later promoted to head of strategy and business development for Wal-Mart U.S.

Hucker began his career as a food industry analyst reporting on pan-European stocks to the City of London. He then worked for 10 years with Aldi, serving in a variety of leadership assignments in Germany, the United States and Austria, and was part of the original startup leadership team that set up Aldi UK.

“I’m grateful to our leadership team for the smooth transition over the past six weeks and I’m excited for the opportunity to continue to drive the strategic direction of the company,” Hucker said of his appointment at Southeastern Grocers. “I’m humbled and honored to lead our team of more than 50,000 associates who are our greatest assets, putting our customers first, always. Over the past two years, we’ve made substantial progress in our transformation, and we’re ready to push forward.”