Rothove promoted to VP and DM for Great Lakes Division
Kansas City, Kansas-based Associated Wholesale Grocers has announced a series of personnel moves in its Gulf Coast and Great Lakes divisions triggered by the retirement of longtime executive Jack Wall.
Wall, VP and division manager for our Gulf Coast Division, retired in December. AWG tapped Mike Schumacher to succeed him the first week of October. At that same time, Robert Rothove was promoted to VP and division manager for the Great Lakes Division, replacing Schumacher.
In a statement wishing Wall well in his retirement, AWG noted that he had been with the company since 2003 and enjoyed a 44-year career in the grocery industry.
In addition to his VP and division manager duties, Wall had held positions with AWG as director of member services, director of center store and VP of sales and merchandising.
“His leadership has been an integral part of the success of the Gulf Coast Division and will be missed,” the company’s statement said.
For his part, Wall expressed gratitude for his time with the company.
“AWG has provided me a very rewarding 17 years, and I have been blessed to be a part of its successful growth,” he said.
According to AWG, Schumacher started his career with the company as a consultant in 2010 and later came aboard as VP of military supply subsidiary, Always Fresh. He was promoted to president of Always Fresh in 2014 and held that position until the subsidiary was sold three years later. He then joined the Great Lakes Division team as division manager in 2018.
Prior to AWG, Schumacher’s experiences included a variety of roles in food distribution, including stints at Sysco (sales), Pepperidge Farm (key account manager), PacWest Foodservice (VP of sales) and Coastal Pacific Food Distributors (division manager).
Schumacher’s successor, Rothove, started his career with AWG in 2016 as the director of center store in the Great Lakes.
According to AWG, his experience in the grocery business spans 33 years. He began by working at Food 4 Less in Jefferson City, Missouri, from 1987-93 while in college. He’s been on the wholesale side of the business since 1993, starting with Fleming as a buyer.
He worked in several different areas at Fleming, with increased levels of responsibility in procurement. He also spent time as a warehouse manager.
In 2003, he joined Affiliated Foods Midwest. During his 13-year career there, he rose from director of procurement to VP of procurement and then SVP-chief procurement officer.
AWG also bid farewell to another longtime employee in December. See story, here.
