Food solutions company SpartanNash is promoting Amy McClellan from senior vice president, chief marketing officer to executive vice president, chief customer officer, marking the third promotion McClellan has earned since joining SpartanNash four years ago.

In her new role, McClellan will be focused on driving sales growth in the wholesale segment and overseeing customer engagements for all national accounts, independent and chain grocers, e-commerce retailers, and the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency and military exchanges worldwide. McClellan will also be responsible for field merchandising, sales operations, customer service and value-added services to help SpartanNash customers succeed in the channel and communities they serve.

McClellan was previously senior vice president, retail of Martin's Super Markets, where she was a customer of SpartanNash until the company acquired the grocery chain in 2019. McClellan joined Martin's in high school as a part-time cashier, worked in a variety of store operations roles and advanced to leadership positions in marketing, merchandising and operations.

During her time at SpartanNash, McClellan has served as division vice president, retail, then vice president, fresh merchandising, and most recently as senior vice president, chief marketing officer. She has played a pivotal role growing the OwnBrands food distribution purchase concentration by improving product quality and innovation. McClellan also led the successful launches of Fresh & Finest by Our Family – a brand that offers affordable and convenient options in deli, bakery, produce and meat – and Finest Reserve.

"As a former wholesale customer herself and a grocery industry veteran, Amy brings tremendous breadth and depth of experience to this role," said SpartanNash CEO Tony Sarsam. "She will be a passionate advocate for our customers, helping them grow their business with a strategic OwnBrands product mix and other SpartanNash services and solutions."

McClellan serves on the SpartanNash Foundation Board of Trustees and the Ohio-based Buehler's Fresh Foods Board of Directors. She is a two-time Top Women in Grocery honoree (2018, 2020) and was recognized in 2019 as a NextGen 40 Under 40 award winner by Progressive Grocer. She earned her undergraduate degree in business marketing and advertising as well as her Master of Business Administration from Indiana University.

McClellan's promotion will follow the Dec. 31 departure of SpartanNash Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer David Sisk as he leaves to devote time to other passion areas after serving for almost four years at SpartanNash. Sisk played a key role in strengthening the SpartanNash partnership with the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency, helping champion a three-year contract extension to provide private-label products to all worldwide DeCA commissaries in 2022. He oversaw streamlining the sales organization to leverage SpartanNash scale while optimizing the customer experience, established export and customer service centers of excellence, and he led the sales team to expand the national accounts footprint while securing several new independent customers in 2023.

"David has been a thoughtful [People First] leader and a supportive partner and advocate for SpartanNash customers," said Sarsam. "We are grateful for his contributions and wish our friend the best in his next chapter."

Sisk and McClellan will work closely together in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition. SpartanNash also has a search underway for McClellan's successor as chief marketing officer.

Source: SpartanNash