Grocery Outlet Names Chief Operations Officer

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has named Ramesh Chikkala as the company’s executive vice president and chief operations officer. A newly created position for the discount grocer, Chikkala started with the company January 22 and will lead its supply chain and business technology functions. He reports to RJ Sheedy, president and CEO.

"Ramesh is an ideal fit for this new position with his extensive leadership and operating experience in both supply chain and technology," said Sheedy. "He has deep expertise in end-to-end supply chain transformation and business digitalization. This position represents continued investment in our business operations, which is critical to delivering our value proposition and supporting future revenue and profit growth."

Chikkala's experience in retail and operations includes 14 years at Walmart, Inc., where, as senior vice president, Global Supply Chain (Omnichannel) and Food Manufacturing, he led its global supply chain and manufacturing operations. He also served as Walmart’s senior vice president of Information Technology.

From 2001 to 2006, he was vice president/regional vice president of Store Operations at Family Dollar Stores, Inc. He has also worked for Gap, Inc. and Food Lion, LLC in a mix of store operations, supply chain and technology roles. Most recently he has been a senior advisor to A.T. Kearney, Inc. in its Operations/Supply Chain/Technology and Consumer Industry & Retail Practice.

"I am thrilled to join Grocery Outlet to help scale the business and deliver on the mission of Touching Lives for the Better." said Chikkala. "I am excited to work with an incredible team and with Grocery Outlet's Independent Operators to transform and further optimize our supply chain and business technology infrastructure to support long-term growth."