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 United States.

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. Since September 2022, Ms. Benedict serves on the board of The Food Project, a non-profit organization.

Matt Echols has served as our Chief Corporate Affairs Officer since March 2022. Prior to joining us, 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, where he currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of West Georgia.

Mahrukh Hussain has served as our General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since May 2022. Prior to joining us, Ms. Hussain served as Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial and Privacy Officer for McDonald’s Corporation since January 2022. During her tenure with McDonald’s, Ms. Hussain held a range of legal positions with increasing responsibility, including Interim Global General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; 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 was appointed our President of Wholesale in March 2023. Prior to that, he served as our Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer since March 2022. Prior to joining us, Mr. Martin served as President of the Global Walmart Customer Team at The Coca-Cola Company since April 2016. 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.

Andre Persaud has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer of Retail since November 2023. Prior to joining UNFI, Mr. Persaud served as senior advisor with Alvarez and Marsal Consumer and Retail Group, working in a C-level capacity with a respective client. He also served as a board and strategic advisor to Pharmacity, one of Vietnam’s largest pharmacy chains. Previously, Mr. Persaud was the Chief Retail Officer of Rite Aid, a $17 billion drugstore chain, Executive consultant at Wakefern Foods, Executive Vice President Retail at Shopko Stores, Senior Vice President of Store Operations at Burlington, and Senior Vice President at Loblaw Companies. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from State University of New York at Buffalo.

Giorgio Matteo Tarditi has served as our President and Chief Financial Officer since April 2024. Prior to joining UNFI, Mr. Tarditi spent 26 years at GE, serving as CFO for seven business units, including Renewable Energy and Energy Connections as well as large divisions of the Power, Oil & Gas, Aerospace, and Healthcare businesses. His deep financial expertise and knowledge of these businesses enabled him to successfully drive operational excellence, efficiency, and increased productivity in complex transformations and M&A integrations. A certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, he also led the development and implementation of processes that have increased forecast accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement. Mr. Tarditi holds a Master of Science degree in Finance and Business Administration from Universita Bocconi in Milan, Italy.