Executive Management

Sandy Douglas, has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board since August 2021. He most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of Staples, Inc. from April 2018 to June 2021, which included leading that company’s business-to-business distribution platform. Prior to Staples, Mr. Douglas served as President of Coca-Cola North America until February 2018, where he led the $10 billion revenue business, encompassing all aspects of its consumer and business-to-business operations. During Mr. Douglas’ 30-year tenure at Coca-Cola, he also served as Global Chief Customer Officer, and held a variety of positions across sales and marketing. Mr. Douglas began his career at The Procter & Gamble Company in sales and sales management positions. Since May 2020, Mr. Douglas has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Wawa Inc., a leading convenience retailer in the eastern US.

Danielle M. Benedict was appointed as our Chief Human Resource Officer in September 2017. Ms. Benedict previously served as our Senior Vice President, Human Resources from May 2016 to September 2017 and as our National Vice President, Human Resources from August 2014 to May 2016 and Director, Compensation & Benefits from April 2013 to August 2014. Prior to joining us, Ms. Benedict was Vice President, Human Resources & Leadership Development at Clean Harbors Environmental Services from 2007 to 2013. She began her career with Dunkin Brands, Inc. in 1999.

Eric A. Dorne was appointed our Chief Operating Officer in March 2020. Mr. Dorne previously served as our Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Information Officer from September 2016 to March 2020. Prior to that Mr. Dorne was our Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer from September 2011 to September 2016. Prior to joining us, Mr. Dorne was Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc., the parent company of the A&P, Pathmark, SuperFresh, Food Emporium and Waldbaum's supermarket chains located in the Eastern United States from January 2011 to August 2011, and Vice President and Chief Information Officer from 2005 to 2011. In his more than 30 years at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Mr. Dorne held various executive positions including Vice President of Enterprise IT Application Management and Development, Vice President of Store Operations Systems and Director of Retail Support Services.

Matt Echols has served as our Chief Corporate Affairs Officer since March 2022. Prior to joining UNFI, Mr. Echols served as Global Vice President for Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability at The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Echols held several positions during his 24 years at Coca-Cola including Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability for North America from 2015 to 2019, and from 2019-2021 a similar role in Asia Pacific based in Singapore. Before joining Coca-Cola, Mr. Echols worked on Capitol Hill for several members of the U.S. Congress. He holds a master’s degree in marketing communications from Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of West Georgia.

John W. Howard was appointed Chief Financial Officer in February 2020 after serving as Interim Chief Financial Officer since August 2019. Mr. Howard joined us in July 2019 as Senior Vice President, Finance. Prior to that, Mr. Howard served as Interim Chief Financial Officer for Prime Therapeutics from July 2018 to May 2019. From August 2014 to July 2017, Mr. Howard was Vice President, Corporate Finance for Valspar Corporation leading the global accounting, tax, treasury, regional CFOs and corporate financial planning and analysis. Prior to that, Mr. Howard held a number of finance and tax roles at Celanese Corporation and Reichhold, Inc. Mr. Howard began his career as a tax consultant with Arthur Anderson and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science, Accounting degrees from the University of Virginia.

Mahrukh Hussain has served as our General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since May 2022. Prior to joining UNFI, Ms. Hussain served as Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial and Privacy Officer for McDonald’s Corporation. Previously, Ms. Hussain served as McDonald’s U.S. General Counsel; Europe General Counsel; Central Division General Counsel; and Senior Counsel/Counsel U.S. Real Estate Practice Groups. Prior to working with McDonald’s, she was an Associate at the law firm of Schwartz, Cooper, Greenberger, and Krauss and served one year as a judicial clerk for Justice Rita Garman. Ms. Hussain holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Louis Martin has served as our Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer since March 2022.  Prior to joining UNFI, Mr. Martin served as President of the Global Walmart Customer Team at The Coca-Cola Company.  Mr. Martin held several positions during his 15 years at Coca-Cola including Senior Vice President of System Evolution for Coca-Cola North America.  Prior to working with Coca-Cola, Mr. Martin was with McKinsey & Company and previously with E.D. & F. Man, a British Sugar Trade House.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University as well as an MBA in Finance and Management from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Christopher P. Testa has served as our President, United Natural Foods, Inc. since August 1, 2018. In April 2019, he also became Chief Marketing Officer. From August 2016 to August 2018, he served as our President, Atlantic Region. Mr. Testa previously served as President, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, from September 2012 to August 2016 and President, Blue Marble Brands, from August 2009 until August 2016. Prior to joining us, Mr. Testa served as Vice President of Marketing for Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages from 2002 to 2005 and as CEO of Wild Waters, Inc. from 2005 to 2009.