Bob Mariano, CEO of Roundy's Supermarkets, Milwaukee, who launched the fast-growing Mariano's grocery chain in the Chicago area, will retire Sept. 1. Mariano, who sold Roundy's to Kroger late last year, will continue to help the company as an adviser, says the Chicago Tribune.
In November, after Kroger bought Roundy's for $800 million, Mariano told the Tribune he wasn't going anywhere. But on July 12, he insisted that was still the case, as he said he will continue to work part time as a Roundy's strategic adviser for two years. But Mariano also said the time had come for someone else to take the lead after his more than 42 years in the grocery business.
"As I look at my career, I always knew there would come a time to step aside and make way for the next generation," said Mariano, 66, who was quoted in the Tribune. "I feel very good about the leadership in place."
Mariano began his grocery career as a Dominick's clerk in 1967. Working his way through the ranks of Dominick's, he eventually became the company's president and CEO, and left to take the helm at Roundy's in 2002.
The centerpiece of his career is the Mariano's chain of stores in Chicago. There are currently 37 Mariano's supermarkets with two more coming before the end of the year. Another five are planned to open next year, as part of an "aggressive capital plan," according to Kroger executives. No immediate replacement for a Roundy's CEO was announced. Don Rosanova, president of Mariano's, and Michael Marx, president of Roundy's Supermarkets Wisconsin, will continue in their current roles, according to Kroger.
