KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) announced that Derek Jones has been appointed Executive Vice President, Division Operations of the Company effective July 10, 2023. In this role, Jones will lead all operations functions to include divisions, corporate distribution, sales, support, and services. He will report directly to Dan Funk, President Elect. Reporting to Jones will be Richard Kearns, Executive Vice President, Distribution & Logistics, Emile Breaux, Senior Vice President, Chief Sales and Support Officer, and Regional Senior Vice Presidents, Danny Lane, James Vaughan, and Troy Marshall.
Jones is a distinguished executive with more than 30 years of diversified experience in retail and distribution businesses, most of which were in the food industry. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Super Store Industries, overseeing the company’s distribution and manufacturing business. Before that role, he held top executive roles at US Foods CHEF’Store, SpartanNash, Unisource Worldwide, Inc., and Office Depot.
“We are blessed to have an accomplished leader such as Derek who will take on this critical leadership role at AWG,” said President and Chief Executive Officer David Smith. “He complements our highperforming culture, and we believe his reputation for remarkable execution and results as a retailer and supplier have prepared him to be a critical member of the future executive team that will further elevate our performance of AWG’s mission of providing our member retailers with all the tools, products, and services they need to compete favorably in all markets served, all at the lowest possible cost.”
Jones will reside in the Kansas City area, with his wife.
ABOUT ASSOCIATED WHOLESALE GROCERS, INC.
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and over 3,400 locations throughout 31 states from 9 wholesale divisions. Consolidated sales for AWG are $12.3 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, health and beauty care, general merchandise, pharmaceutical products, specialty foods, and natural and organic products. For more information, visit AWGinc.com and follow @AWGCorporate on Twitter.
