Wakefern Names New Chief Sales Officer

Wakefern Food Corp., has named a new chief sales officer who will have oversight of several key segments including the cooperative’s private label efforts.

Darren Caudill joins Wakefern with more than four decades of experience on the grocery wholesale and retail sides of the business. In his new role, Caudill will oversee center store, own brands, fresh and prepared foods departments along with digital and innovation, marketing, merchandising and sales and analytics divisions.

“We’re excited to welcome Darren to Wakefern,” said Mike Stigers, Wakefern’s president. “His proven track record of success in sales and marketing, combined with his extensive experience in grocery retail and wholesale, will allow us to continually innovate and elevate the in-store and online customer experiences we deliver.” 

Caudill joins Wakefern after spending the last decade at Cub Foods, Supervalu and UNFI, where he was a key leader and, most recently, senior vice president of merchandising, marketing and sales.

He began his career at The Kroger Company where his experience would lead him from a store manager’s position through roles as a category manager, merchandiser in the grocery and meat divisions, pricing strategy, and loyalty marketing.