New CEO at Winn-Dixie

Winn-Dixie Stores (Jacksonville, Fla.) has hired Peter Lynch as its president and ceo. Lynch, a former executive at the Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons supermarket chain, succeeds Frank Lazaran, who resigned.

The move follows Winn-Dixie's announcement that it was undertaking a major restructuring plan in April and the naming of a new chairman in October.

“The Winn-Dixie board concluded that making this change was a necessary step towards achieving our objectives, and we feel very fortunate to bring in a chief executive of Peter Lynch's caliber to lead the company through this challenging period,” said H. Jay Skelton, chairman of Winn-Dixie's board of directors. “Peter is an accomplished industry veteran with strong turnaround skills and 30 years of experience in food and drug retailing. He is a skilled leader who will be an invaluable asset to Winn-Dixie as we work to improve the execution of our strategic initiatives and increase shareholder value.”

Lynch, 53, most recently served for three years as president and coo of Albertsons, where he was responsible for operations, merchandising and marketing for the 2500 stores under the Albertson's, Jewel/Osco, ACME, Sav-on and Osco names, as well as logistics/distribution, real estate and capital expenditures. He also led a strategic initiative that included a 200-store asset rationalization and a $500 million expense-reduction program.

“I am excited by the opportunity to lead Winn-Dixie through this critical juncture in its history,” said Lynch. “Winn-Dixie has a solid presence in some of the best markets in the country and has taken some positive steps in the past year towards rationalizing non-core assets and improving its competitive position and operational performance. I look forward to working with the board, our management team and all of our associates as we execute on these initiatives more quickly and aggressively.”

Winn-Dixie operates a total of about 1000 stores in 12 states and the Bahamas.