Dive Brief:
- Publix announced Wednesday that it promoted senior vice president and CIO Laurie Douglas to executive vice president, chief information and digital officer, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
- Along with Douglas, Publix unveiled six other promotions within its technology division, two in its industrial operations division and one in its finance department, which also take effect at the start of next year.
- The promotions add to Publix’s reputation for advancing veteran employees into higher leadership roles.
Dive Insight:
Publix said that most of the promotions announced Wednesday stem from three retirements — two from within its technology departments and one within its industrial operations department.
Laurie Douglas
Courtesy of Publix
Vice President of IS Technology and Security Steve Wellslager retired at the end of August after 38 years with the company and Vice President of IS Application Development Renee Kelly plans to retire at the end of 2026, according to the press release. Because of these departures, the grocer said it will move up Douglas to the chief information and digital officer role. Douglas started at Publix in 2006 as a senior vice president and CIO, and in 2019 began leading the company’s digital, mobile and omnichannel capabilities.
The grocer also promoted Erik Katenkamp, a vice president who has been at Publix for more than 30 years, to senior vice president of IS development, omnichannel, data and AI.
The grocer promoted four senior IT directors. Vlad Ali, Christian Bain, Steve Brooks and Sunil Singh were named vice presidents of IS development while Mark Roberts moved to vice president of IT services and engineering.
Ali, Bain and Singh have been at Publix for just over two decades, while Brooks and Roberts both started working for the grocer in the 1980s.
Publix announced that Senior Vice President of Industrial Operations Mike Smith plans to retire at the end of this year after a 43-year career with the company. With Smith leaving, the grocer named Vice President of Distribution and Transportation Mike Lester as senior vice president of industrial operations. Director of Transportation and Maintenance James Sadler promoted to vice president of distribution and transportation. Lester and Sadler both began their Publix careers in the 1980s.
Publix promoted Vice President of Finance Doug Stalbaum to senior vice president of finance. Stalbaum joined the grocer in 2019 as director of business analysis and reporting.
