Haggen Inc.’s board of directors selected John Clougher as new chief executive officer. Clougher will join the Bellingham-based grocery chain on Sept. 8.
Clougher recently worked as CEO of Andronico’s Community Markets in the San Fransisco Bay Area, where he guided the company through a major reorganization, according to a Haggen news release. Before that, he was Northwest regional president for Whole Foods Markets.
Haggen has been without a CEO since December 2012, when former CEO C.J. Gabriel Jr. resigned. Since then, a three-member leadership team has led Haggen.
The team, officially called the “Office of the Presidents,” was made up of senior vice president Clement Stevens, chief operating officer John Turley, and Ron Stevens, who served as both chief financial officer and chief information officer.
Ron Stevens left the company three months ago to pursue other opportunities, Deborah Pleva, a Haggen spokeswoman, said in an email.
Blake Barnett, who was previously with the company, replaced him as Haggen’s current CFO.
The leadership team led the organization through a rebranding while extensively searching for a new CEO.
Haggen is still working on rebranding their stores to a new company theme called “Northwest Fresh.” Most Bellingham locations were rebranded in 2012.
The company is also still working on combining its two brands by converting Top Food &Drug locations to Haggen Food and Pharmacy stores. The company will soon have all their stores under a single banner, Pleva said.
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