PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway Inc. has appointed company veteran Kelly Griffith as president of merchandising, a newly created post.

Safeway Inc. has appointed company veteran Kelly Griffith as president of merchandising, a newly created post.

The supermarket operator said Monday that Griffith will oversee the retailer’s entire perishable and nonperishable businesses, including grocery, general merchandise, produce, meat, seafood, bakery, food service and floral. He reports to Diane Dietz, executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Griffith joined Safeway 30 years ago in the food and drug chain’s Seattle division. After working his way through a range of retail store management assignments, he was assigned to the corporate retail operations team in 1999 and elected to vice president the next year, according to Safeway.

He was promoted to vice president of retail operations in Safeway’s Seattle division in 2001 and then returned to the corporate office as senior vice president of produce and floral in 2004. Griffith was promoted to president of the Portland division in 2005 and then returned to corporate in 2008 as president and general manager for perishables.

"Kelly has a proven track record of successes and is an energetic and effective leader who understands the needs of our customers and how to achieve positive results," Dietz said in a statement. "This newly created role will produce greater synergies between Safeway’s perishables and nonperishables teams and will serve to enhance and strengthen the company’s overall centralized merchandising function."

Safeway operates 1,712 stores in the United States and Canada.