Discount stores announce departures, promotions, new arrivals
As historic inflation wrecks Americans’ wallets, two of the most high-profile discount chains in the country are making personnel changes.
Dollar Tree Inc. has announced the exits of chief financial officer Kevin Wampler, chief legal officer and corporate secretary William Old, chief operating officer Thomas O’Boyle, chief strategy officer David Jacobs and chief information officer Andy Paisley.
The house cleaning is the result of a settlement with activist investor Mantle Ridge to revamp the board, Reuters reported. Under the settlement, the Chesapeake, VA-based company has added seven new directors, including former Dollar General Corp CEO Rick Dreiling and Mantle Ridge founder Paul Hilal.
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Wampler, who has been CFO for nearly 14 years, will exit the role once a successor is named and will stay with the company as an adviser until April 2023. As for the other successors,
Dollar Tree said the company is in advanced talks with several candidates.
“As we look to the future, I believe these changes within our leadership team will bring new perspectives and experiences that will help accelerate our continued growth and deliver even greater value for our shareholders, customers, employees and suppliers,” said Mike Witynski, president and CEO of Dollar Tree.
“Our board is fully aligned with Mike that now is the right time to bring in new leadership to ensure the Company remains on a strong trajectory,” added Rick Dreiling, executive chairman of the board.
Meanwhile, Dollar General has announced several promotions, including in HR roles.
Dr. Johné Battle, who joined the Goodlettsville, TN-based company in 2020, has been named senior vice president of diversity and inclusion. Ivan Reeves, a 20-year veteran of the company has been named senior vice president of supply chain human resources, overseeing Dollar General’s 28 distribution centers, as well as the growing private fleet network.
Mark Banister, who joined the company in 2009, has been promoted to senior vice president of in-store experience. Michael Auyeung has been named vice president of merchandising. With more than 35 years of merchandising experience, Auyeung joined the company’s pOpshelf merchandising team in 2019 and will lead beauty, health, stationary, arts and crafts, toys and electronics merchandising. pOpshelf currently operates 66 stores in seven states.
Rick Channell, who has been with the company since 2011, has been promoted to vice president, division merchandise manager. Scott Miller, who joined two years before Channell, has been promoted to vice president of space management.
And finally, Allen Warch has joined Dollar General as vice president, division merchandise manager with leadership of fresh merchandise. Warch spent more than a decade in managerial positions at Kroger.
Promoting from within has become vital to remain competitive during the Great Resignation, in which companies across the United States are experiencing record turnover. More than 4.4 million Americans quit their job in April, following similar amounts in March and February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means nearly 70 million Americans have quit their job over the past year. Prompted by the COID-19 pandemic to re-evaluate their priorities in life, employees have been leaving their positions for greener pastures, demanding higher salaries, better working conditions, improved work-life balance and more opportunities to advance their career.