He will remain on the board of Dollar Tree

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Howard Levine is stepping down as chief executive officer of Family Dollar on January 15, but he will remain on the board of Dollar Tree Inc.

The departure, announced on Friday by Dollar Tree, is earlier than planned but comes after the integration of Family Dollar and Dollar Tree has been completed, Dollar Tree said in a statement.

When Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar last summer, the company said Levine would remain with the company for two years to help guide the integration.

Family Dollar remains based in Matthews, N.C., where it employs about 1,200 people. The combined company has 14,038 stores in 48 states and five Canadian provinces.

Gary Philbin, who was named Family Dollar president and chief operating officer in July, will continue to lead Family Dollar and report to Bob Sasser, Dollar Tree’s CEO.

“It was very important to me for Howard to remain with our company and to contribute to the combination of our two large organizations,” Sasser said in a statement. “He has been an integral leader at Family Dollar for more than two decades, and has accumulated a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience.”

Said Levine, “I have been impressed by Dollar Tree’s commitment to discipline and execution in running a value retail business. I am confident that both the Family Dollar and Dollar Tree banners are well positioned for many years of growth and success.”

Levine, whose father opened the first Family Dollar outlet in Charlotte, N.C., in 1959, said he was honored to have been part of Family Dollar for the past quarter century. “I would like to share my gratitude to many thousands of current and former Family Dollar team members that have helped build Family Dollar into the business it is today, delivering terrific values to millions of customers on a daily basis,” he said in a statement.