LANDOVER, MD - The first day of November signals many things—inching closer to winter, welcoming Thanksgiving, and, this year, seeing Irfan Badibanga step in as Giant Food's new Senior Vice President of Operations. Badibanga will be responsible for leading all operational aspects of Giant including regional operations, store support, strategic store planning, and execution and asset protection, as well as people, team, and culture development.
"I am thrilled to be joining Giant Food, which has over 84 years' experience serving the community, and am looking forward to the opportunity to work with Giant associates who are passionate about serving their customers and helping their community," said Badibanga. "Consumer preferences are shifting, and at Giant, product excellence, convenience, and value are key. I believe my work experience has prepared me well, and I am excited to join the Giant team as we continue to implement brand and operational strategies to serve our customers best."
Badibanga brings a strong track record of transforming corporate objectives into bottom-line growth for supermarket, small and big-box retailers, including Walmart, Family Dollar Stores, Winn Dixie Supermarkets, HEB Grocery Stores, and Price Chopper Supermarkets.
He began his grocery retail career as a bagger and by the age of 24, he was appointed to District Manager at Winn-Dixie. According to a press release, Badibanga moved through the ranks at a variety of supermarket chains, building his expertise in store management, merchandising, operations, omni-channel delivery, asset protection, HR, and general management.
"Irfan has been a successful, entrepreneurial leader, driving enormous growth at some of the largest retail organizations in this country," said Ira Kress, President. "We are confident that his deep management and operations expertise at both the regional and national level will bring tremendous value to our organization at a time when we are implementing a transformational brand strategy and evolving our culture."
Most recently, Badibanga served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Family Dollar Stores overseeing 8,000 U.S. stores in 44 states. Prior to joining Family Dollar, he was Vice President of Operations at Walmart, overseeing 33,000 associates across a 110-store region that produced $8 billion dollars in annual revenue.
Congratulations to Irfan Badibanga on this exciting appointment!
