KANSAS CITY, KS - Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) recently announced several key leadership changes. Dan Funk will serve in the new role of Chief Operating Officer. Jeff Pedersen, in addition to his current role of EVP, Chief Sales and Support Officer, will assume oversight for Valu Merchandisers Company subsidiary. Tye Anthony will serve as the SVP of Merchandising.

“It is AWG’s mission to provide our member-retailers all the tools, products, and services they need to compete favorably in all markets served. This includes top quality supermarket merchandise and support services, all at the lowest possible cost,” David Smith, President and CEO, stated in a letter to AWG's members. “To fulfill that mission in these times of change, our organizational structure must evolve to best support the needs of our members, our fellow teammates, and to support the ongoing relationship with our vendor-partners.”

Effective January 1, 2020, Dan Funk will step into the role of COO, a position that has been created to lead day-to-day operations of the cooperative and to effectively execute AWG’s 5 Key Strategic Initiatives, which are Same Store Sales Growth, Member Services and Support, Leadership Development and Succession Ready Organization, Distribution Network Improvement, and Cooperative and Subsidiary Growth.

Funk began his career with AWG in 2012 and has since progressed to positions like President of Valu Merchandisers Company (VMC); SVP of Grocery Merchandising; EVP of Merchandising and Marketing; and most recently, Chief Supply Chain and Merchandising Officer.

Jeff Pedersen has been with the company for 22 years and within his current role of EVP, Chief Sales and Support Officer, has made significant contributions to the success of AWG, a press release noted. His first role at AWG started as a Division Retail Specialist and progressed to multiple other support and leadership positions to serving as EVP of Division Operations.

Tye Anthony’s promotion to SVP, Merchandising, goes into effect November 4, 2019. He will lead the merchandising team that includes meat, bakery and deli, produce, category management, AWG Brands, inventory management, and business analytics. He has been with AWG in various leadership roles since 2013, including VP of Sales and Merchandising for both the Nashville and Fort Worth Divisions; VP of Advertising, Merchandising, and Marketing; and most recently VP of AWG Brands and Merchandising.

“I could not be more proud of all that this talented group of leaders have accomplished in the past year,” Smith concluded. “We are blessed to have this kind of leadership talent and depth and I consider it a privilege to work with all of them.”

Congratulations to the AWG team!

Associated Wholesale Grocers