Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has appointed Frances Allen and Felicia Thornton as independent directors, effective April 1.
Follow a national search, the appointments add significant grocery, restaurant and retail operating experience to the extreme value retailer’s board.
“Frances and Felicia bring strong grocery and retail operational experience and significant strategic insight to our board,” said Eric Lindberg, chairman of Grocery Outlet’s board of directors.
“Frances is an accomplished leader of nationally recognized restaurant businesses with deep expertise in brand strategy, marketing and operations, including experience with franchise models similar to our independent operator approach. Felicia is a seasoned board member and a finance and operating executive with more than 20 years of specialization in the grocery sector, including a strong background in opportunistic sourcing.”
Allen brings 40 years of consumer and food industry leadership. She most recently served as president and CEO of Checkers Drive-In Restaurants and previously held the top role at Boston Market Corp. Her resume includes brand president of Jack in the Box, chief brand officer of Denny’s Corp. and CMO of Dunkin’ Donuts USA, along with earlier leadership positions at PepsiCo and Frito-Lay. Allen serves as a director of Brinker International and sits on advisory boards for Hi-Auto and the Global Retail Marketing Association.
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Thornton’s background is rooted directly in grocery. Over more than 30 years, she has served as co-CEO, president and COO of Demoulas Super Markets (Market Basket), CFO and EVP of strategy at Albertsons, and group VP of retail operations at Kroger. She also held executive strategic and financial roles at Ralphs and Fred Meyer, both of which became part of the Kroger portfolio.
Most recently, Thornton held executive and director positions with Number Holdings (99 Cents Only Stores), including chair, interim CEO and CFO. She currently sits on the board of Floor & Decor Holdings, where she chairs the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Prior public board experience includes Nordstrom and Pactiv Evergreen.
Lindberg noted that both appointees bring relevant experience for Grocery Outlet’s strategic priorities. “Both offer deep experience in driving business transformations, strengthening board oversight of the company’s efforts to reinforce our longstanding leadership in value,” he said.
The board additions come as Grocery Outlet continues to expand its footprint. The Emeryville, California-based retailer operates more than 540 stores across 16 states – California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Nevada, Idaho, North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, Alabama, Delaware and Kentucky – primarily through a network of independently operated locations.