GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — SpartanNash Co. announced that chairman and chief executive officer Dennis Eidson will retire as CEO following the company’s annual meeting on May 23.

Dennis Eidson

David Staples, president and chief operating officer, will take over as CEO at the wholesale food distributor and grocery store operator. Eidson will remain on the board as its chairman, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“Under Dennis’ guidance, the company has achieved remarkable success in executing its business strategies and leveraging the food distribution, retail and military segments to achieve sustainable growth,” said Tim O’Donovan, lead director at SpartanNash. “Dennis’ demonstrated leadership through the merger with Nash Finch Co. and the successful integration of Spartan Stores and Nash Finch has positioned our company for continued success and growth. This is further exemplified by the company’s solid financial position and its ability to pursue future growth through the recent acquisition of Indianapolis-based Caito Foods Service and Blue Ribbon Transport. We are grateful to Dennis for his unparalleled contributions, and look forward to the future with Dave Staples at the helm.”

Dave Staples

Staples served as the company’s chief financial officer for 16 years before being named COO in 2015. He is a certified public accountant, and he sits on the boards of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Rapids Symphony. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

“Dave has been an instrumental member of our executive team for the past 17 years and a key leader in our transformational merger in 2013,” Eidson said in a statement. “His leadership has been an essential component to our success, and I have great confidence in his ability to lead our remarkable group of associates to deliver the best in customer focus and service.”

Staples said he is honored to be appointed to the role of CEO. “Our company has a remarkable legacy of phenomenal leaders dating back more than 100 years,” he said. “Our SpartanNash family of more than 15,000 talented and engaged associates is also committed to serving our customers, coworkers, and communities. We have high standards of excellence, and I look forward to further strengthening our market position by leveraging our organization’s core competencies and competitive advantages to ensure that we collectively cultivate relationships that will enable us to extend our success well into the future.”

SpartanNash distributes grocery products to independent grocery retailers, national accounts, its corporate-owned retail stores and U.S. military commissaries in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bahrain and Egypt. SpartanNash currently operates 155 supermarkets, primarily under the banners of Family Fare Supermarkets, Family Fresh Market, D&W Fresh Market and SunMart. Through its MDV military division, SpartanNash is the leading distributor of grocery products to military commissaries in the United States.