Giorgio “Matteo” Tarditi has been named president and CFO of Providence, Rhode Island-based United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), effective April 15, when current President and CEO Sandy Douglas will relinquish the president role but remain CEO.
Tarditi succeeds current CFO John W. Howard, who will leave UNFI following a transition period.
“Matteo is a proven executive who, over the course of his more than 26 years at GE, served as CFO for seven business units, including Renewable Energy and Energy Connections as externally reported segments and large divisions of the power, oil and gas, aerospace and healthcare businesses,” Douglas said.
“His deep financial expertise and knowledge of these businesses enabled him to successfully drive operational excellence, efficiency and increased productivity in complex transformations and M&A integrations.
“A certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, he also led the development and implementation of processes that have increased forecast accuracy, accountability and continuous improvement. We are pleased to welcome Matteo to our team and look forward to his contributions.”
Douglas also commented on Howard’s departure.
“We also want to thank John Howard for his years of dedicated service and leadership. John played an instrumental role in the integration efforts following the 2018 SUPERVALU acquisition and in helping UNFI navigate the challenges of the global pandemic. I have greatly appreciated his counsel since I joined UNFI.”
In his new role, Tarditi will oversee UNFI’s corporate finance, treasury, strategy, financial planning and analysis, tax, accounting, investor relations, risk management and shared services.
“I am thrilled to join UNFI’s talented team, renowned for its customer-centric and collaborative culture,” Tarditi said.
“I am excited by the opportunity to contribute to the mission of feeding families across North America and to support the customer- and supplier-driven strategy and transformation plan for the company. I look forward to leading the finance organization and partnering with the people who make UNFI the market leader and a company that delivers profitable growth and value creation for shareholders.”
Tarditi began his career with GE in 1997 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in healthcare, where he served as CFO of GE Healthcare Japan from 2005-07; in GE Aerospace, where he served as CFO of Avio Aero; GE Aviation from 2013-15; in GE Oil & Gas, where he served as CFO of drilling and production from 2010-13; in GE Grid Solutions, where he served as CFO from 2015-16; in GE Energy Connections, where he served as CFO from 2016-17; in GE Power Services, where he served as CFO in 2018; in GE Renewable Energies, where he served as CFO from 2019-21; and in GE Corporate, where he served as group financial planning and analysis leader from 2021-present.
A frequent speaker on global leadership, turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions and talent motivation, Tarditi has a master’s degree in finance and business administration from Universita Bocconi in Milan, Italy.
About UNFI
UNFI is a grocery wholesaler delivering a variety of fresh, branded and owned brand products to more than 30,000 locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce providers and food service customers.
UNFI also provides a range of value-added services and segmented marketing expertise, including proprietary technology, data, market insights and shelf management to help customers and suppliers build their businesses and brands.
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