BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons Cos. announced Wednesday that Shane Sampson, executive vice president and chief marketing a merchandising officer, has decided to leave the company at the end of its second fiscal quarter on September 7.  The company has launched a search for a successor.

Shane Sampson

“Shane has been instrumental in building the Albertsons Companies we know today – both at a division level and nationally,” company president and CEO Vivek Sankaran said in a statement. “Since 2013, he has helped our team turn around operations in addition to building a robust merchandising and marketing function to help support our 2,200 locations. He launched our e-commerce business in key markets and strengthened it in areas where it had operated since 2002, and accelerated the growth of our Own Brands business by envisioning a faster, smarter way to connect with customer needs.  He has been a champion for omnichannel growth both internally and with our supplier community. Throughout his years with Albertsons and in the industry, he has mentored countless thousands in running great stores. I know that he will do great work in whatever he chooses to take on next.”

Sampson is a fourth-generation retailer who started his career as a courtesy clerk but got his first experience in the business watching his grandfather, who owned and operated his own grocery store. He went on to spend more than 35 years in the grocery industry, much of it at Albertsons.

He worked his way up through the ranks at what was initially Albertsons Inc., culminating in serving as president of both the company’s Florida and Intermountain divisions. He left in Albertsons in 2002 and spent several years with Sam’s Club, before returning to Albertsons LLC. He left again to serve as senior vice president of sales and operations at Ahold’s Landover, Md.-based Giant Foods division, before rejoining the Albertsons team in 2013 to serve as president of the Shaw’s and Star Market chains. In 2014 he moved to Chicago to be president of the Jewel-Osco chain. Sampson was appointed executive vice president of marketing and merchandising in January 2015, and four months later was elevated to his current position as executive vice president and chief marketing and merchandising officer.

MMR recognized Sampson as its Merchant of the Year for 2017.