PROVIDENCE, RI - Two new leaders have stepped up within the ranks of United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) as the distributor is elevating its leadership teams and resources. In its plans to drive its customer-centric strategy and transformation agenda, UNFI has appointed Erin Horvath as Chief Operating Officer, and Louis Martin has been named President of Wholesale.
Horvath joined UNFI in October 2022 after more than 17 years in senior leadership roles with AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a global pharmaceutical wholesale company. She brings deep expertise in driving transformation initiatives in large-scale wholesale distribution systems.
As COO, Horvath will be responsible for driving project management underpinning the improvement plan, enhancing UNFI’s legacy integration and physical infrastructure, as well as ensuring successful implementation of the digital, technology, and automation initiatives. Along with this change, Chief Supply Chain Officer Mark Bushway will report to Horvath and partner with her to drive improved process and standardization across the supply chain.
Also taking on a new position is Martin, who joined UNFI in March 2022 and has been a key leader in the development of UNFI’s strategy and transformation agenda. He is also known for spearheading the creation and early-stage development of the Company’s digital roadmap. Before joining UNFI, Martin served for 15 years in a variety of senior leadership positions with The Coca-Cola Company, including overseeing the Global Walmart Customer team, where he built leading customer service capabilities.
Steve Dietz, Chief Customer Officer, will report to Martin and continue to lead UNFI’s field sales and merchandising organizations with a renewed focus on UNFI’s growing regional and independently owned customers. Martin is a seasoned leader who, as President of Wholesale, will lead the evolution of UNFI’s customer-centric strategy by integrating national and regional customer organizations, revenue growth management, and the commercial planning teams.
UNFI recently outlined the core tenets of its four-part transformation program. Key initiatives of the plan will include network automation and optimization, commercial value creation, digital offering enhancement, and infrastructure unification and modernization.
Horvath and Martin will join company President Chris Testa to together form a team of operators with considerable experience with these types of capability improvement programs.
“This operational leadership team, made up of UNFI veterans and new leaders, is equipped to help us accelerate improvement in our customer and supplier experience, our operating efficiency, and digital and physical infrastructure,” said UNFI Chief Executive Officer Sandy Douglas. “With our transformation plan nearly complete and the realignment of our leadership teams in place, we are well positioned to become a unique value creator for our customers, suppliers, associates, and shareholders.”
Congratulations all around to Erin Horvath and Louis Martin on their new roles!
