Food City has promoted Paul Cox to SVP and CFO and Sara Baldwin to VP of finance, following the retirement of longtime CFO Eddie Neely. Cox will also join the company’s board of directors.
“We would like to thank Eddie for his dedication and commitment, and the impact he has made on our company’s continued success during his tenure. We wish him all the best in this exciting new chapter of life,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and CEO.
Paul Cox
Cox brings more than 40 years of experience with the company to the role, having held positions including senior accountant, internal audit manager, assistant controller and assistant VP of finance before his most recent role as VP of finance. He will oversee all finance-accounting and information technology services operations and personnel.
“We are very excited to see Paul advance to SVP and CFO of our company,” Smith said.
“His rich history with Food City uniquely qualifies him to build upon Eddie’s success and help our company continue to grow and prosper well into the future.”
Cox is a member of Food City’s senior staff executive leadership team and serves on multiple committees within the organization and the grocery industry. He is a graduate of East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and is a Certified Public Accountant registered in Tennessee.
Cox is also active in his community, having served multiple terms on the Board of Directors for United Way of Southwest Virginia and Children’s Community Park Association.
Sara Baldwin
Baldwin steps into the VP of finance role with 15 years of service at Food City, where she previously served as financial analyst and financial planning and analysis supervisor before becoming director of finance and planning. She will oversee finance, treasury and payroll operations.
“We’re excited to have Sara assume the role of VP of finance for our company,” Smith said.
“She is a long-term Food City teammate, having worked in our stores while in college and joined our management team at an early age. Sara has been instrumental in guiding our executive leadership team in financial analysis and decision making and will continue to be a great leader for our company.”
Baldwin graduated from East Tennessee State University with a BBA in Economics in 2011 and earned her MBA in 2014. She also completed a Graduate Accounting Certificate and the National Grocers Association (NGA) Cornell Executive Leadership Development Program in 2021. She holds CPA and Certified Management Accountant designations and is certified by FMI as a food retail leader.
Baldwin serves on the Bristol Chamber of Commerce board of directors and the Virginia Highlands Educational Foundation board of directors.
Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores – Food City’s parent company – operates 164 retail outlets across southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia and Alabama. Both Cox and Baldwin reside in the Virginia communities Food City serves, and both have children employed by the company.
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