CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Dollar Tree Inc. has promoted Michael Witynski to president and chief executive officer, the company announced on Monday. Gary Philbin, 63, who joined Dollar Tree in 2001 and became CEO in 2017, is retiring after a retail career of more than 40 years.

Philbin will stay on as an executive and member of the board through September 23.

Dollar Tree executive chairman Bob Sasser praised Witynski.

Mike Witynski

“Mike is a proven leader, having joined the company in 2010 as senior vice president of stores and rising to president and chief operating officer of Dollar Tree Stores in 2017. He was then promoted to enterprise president in 2019, where he was responsible for leading the merchandising, store operations, and supply chain functions for both the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar brands. Under Mike’s leadership, we have driven outstanding performance — first at Dollar Tree and most recently at Family Dollar. He helped put in place a broad range of operational and talent initiatives to position our Company for an even more successful future, as witnessed by the recent successes at Family Dollar. I am delighted to have Mike Witynski step into this new leadership role.”

Prior to joining Dollar Tree in 2010, Witynski, 57, held senior leadership roles in merchandising, marketing, private brands and operations during his 29 years in the grocery industry.

“The Board and I are grateful to Gary Philbin for his steadfast commitment and tireless efforts over nearly two decades to help make Dollar Tree the company it is today,” Sasser said. “Gary’s leadership as CEO brought our banners together as one company in Chesapeake. Through his efforts, we have a succession plan in place to ensure the smoothest possible leadership transition. On behalf of the Board, his colleagues and our associates, we thank Gary and wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Witynski said he was honored to take on the new role, and excited about the retailer’s potential.

“We have great momentum; our sales and margins are encouraging; our work to improve the customer experience is driving traffic; and we are now capturing more of the benefits inherent in bringing the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar management teams together under one roof,” Witynski said. “It has been a privilege to work with Gary, and I wish him the best for the future.”

Philbin joined Dollar Tree in 2001 as senior vice president of stores, and then was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility. In September 2017, he became president and chief executive officer of Dollar Tree. Philbin is credited with driving the development of private brands, customer research and marketing, and operational excellence into store-focused initiatives. The company added that he has been deeply involved in the evolution of the Dollar Tree store format, in accelerating the integration of Family Dollar, and in working with the Family Dollar team to create the new H2 format.

“Mike has a deep understanding of every facet of our business and is well-prepared to take over as CEO,” Philbin said. “I look forward to his leadership in driving our initiatives at both Family Dollar and Dollar Tree banners to deliver great values, an exciting shopping experience and more value for our long term shareholders.”