Albertsons’ leadership changes are signals to monitor, not proof that its strategy is succeeding or failing. Susan Morris’s May 1, 2025 succession as CEO was planned; the company later reassigned commercial and technology responsibilities, changed its board leadership, and appointed Cody Perdue interim CFO on September 30, 2026. Investors should judge those moves against reported operating results, clearer accountability, and execution—not infer cause and effect from announcements alone.
What changed at Albertsons, and when?
The sequence matters: the CEO handoff was a planned internal succession, the commercial reorganization followed a senior executive’s departure, board changes altered leadership and expertise, and the CFO transition is still underway.
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Planned CEO succession: Susan Morris replaced Vivek Sankaran
On February 27, 2025, Albertsons announced that Vivek Sankaran had notified the board of his decision to retire as CEO and director. Susan Morris, then chief operating officer and an Albertsons executive since 2010, was appointed to succeed him effective May 1, 2025, when she also joined the board. The company’s SEC filing said Sankaran’s decision was not the result of a disagreement about company operations, policies, or practices. The available facts therefore describe a planned internal succession, not evidence of a crisis or board intervention.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Morris said in the SEC-filed succession announcement, “At a time of profound change for the grocery industry, I am honored to be appointed as the next CEO of Albertsons Cos.” That conveys her stated perspective at the handoff; it does not establish how well the transition has worked.
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Commercial and technology responsibilities were redistributed
On May 30, 2025, Albertsons announced that Omer Gajial, EVP and Chief Merchandising & Digital Officer, would leave for opportunities outside the company. He remained available through late August. His remit had included digital, ecommerce, pharmacy, health and wellness, merchandising, and retail media.
- Michelle Larson moved from EVP, Operations—West to EVP, Chief Merchandising Officer. Her remit included Own Brands, merchandising strategy and services, pricing and promotion, space planning, fuel, and commission income.
- Jennifer Saenz became EVP, Chief Commercial Officer, adding digital experiences, marketing and loyalty, and Albertsons Media Collective to pharmacy and ecommerce operations.
- Anuj Dhanda’s Chief Technology & Transformation Officer remit expanded to include data science and product management.
The structure placed merchandising and commercial functions in more defined roles while expanding the technology remit. For investors, the test is whether those boundaries make decision-making and accountability clearer—and whether the company reports better execution against its commercial and digital goals. The organizational announcement itself does not show that results improved.
Board leadership and expertise changed
On September 17, 2025, Jim Donald retired as chair and director. Kim Fennebresque, an independent director since 2015, became chair. David Zinsner, then Intel’s EVP and CFO, joined as an independent director, and Allen Gibson also retired. Albertsons cited Zinsner’s finance, technology, and AI experience as relevant to its digital strategy; that is the company’s rationale, not evidence of an effect on performance.
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Albertsons’ 2026 proxy statement adds important context about board composition: Gibson was a Cerberus designee; after his September 2025 retirement, Zinsner was designated by Cerberus. Scott Wille was designated by Cerberus in November 2025 following Lisa Gray’s resignation; Gray became a Cerberus-designated observer. Brian Rice joined after an independent search for cybersecurity, data, and IT expertise and joined the Audit and Technology committees in April 2026.
These details make board oversight more informative than a simple count of new directors. Investors can examine which directors are independent, how designation rights shape board composition, and whether the relevant expertise is used in committee oversight. The proxy also says senior management provides quarterly business and strategy updates and the board reviews alignment between the budget and capital plan and strategic goals.
The CFO transition remains active
On September 30, 2026, the board appointed Cody Perdue interim CFO after Sharon McCollam announced plans to retire as president and CFO. McCollam is to remain as an adviser through February 27, 2027, and the company said it had begun a search for a permanent CFO. Perdue joined Albertsons in 2013 and had been SVP of Treasury, Investor Relations and Risk Management since 2025; he continues those duties as interim CFO.
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This appointment provides interim coverage, but it is not the same as a completed succession. The permanent appointment, handoff arrangements, and continuity of financial reporting and capital-allocation decisions are relevant follow-up signals.
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Reported performance provides context for the leadership story, not a causal test of it. Albertsons’ fiscal 2025 included 53 weeks, while Q1 FY2026 was a 16-week period, so the figures below should not be treated as like-for-like periods or compared naively as annual and quarterly run rates.
| Measure | FY2025, ended February 28, 2026 (53 weeks) | Q1 FY2026, ended June 20, 2026 (16 weeks) | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identical sales, excluding fuel | Increased 2.0%, according to Albertsons’ FY2025 results | Decreased 0.8%, according to Albertsons’ Q1 FY2026 results | Shows a shift from growth to a decline on the company’s comparable-store measure; it does not isolate leadership’s contribution. |
| Digital sales | Increased 21%, according to Albertsons’ FY2025 results | Increased 13%, according to Albertsons’ Q1 FY2026 results | Growth continued, but sales growth alone does not establish digital profitability or contribution. |
| Net income (GAAP) | $217 million, according to Albertsons’ FY2025 results | $85 million, according to Albertsons’ Q1 FY2026 results | Reported net income is a GAAP measure; do not substitute an adjusted measure for it. |
| Adjusted net income (company-adjusted, non-GAAP) | $1,209 million, according to Albertsons’ FY2025 results | $210 million, according to Albertsons’ Q1 FY2026 results | Keep this separate from GAAP net income and assess the company’s adjustment definitions when reviewing filings. |
| Adjusted EBITDA (company-adjusted, non-GAAP) | $3,902 million, according to Albertsons’ FY2025 results | $1,013 million, according to Albertsons’ Q1 FY2026 results | A company-adjusted performance measure, not net income or cash flow. |
In its FY2025 results, CEO Susan Morris described the year as “a year of disciplined execution and resilience” and said the company closed it with strong Adjusted EBITDA despite pharmacy-related top-line headwinds. In the Q1 FY2026 release, she said, “While these results did not meet our expectations, they underscored the need to move faster.” Both statements are management’s characterization of company-reported results.
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For Q1 FY2026, Albertsons said digital and pharmacy continued to grow while core grocery faced softer industry unit trends and a more cautious consumer. The company also announced ACI Edge to accelerate execution and enhance performance. Those are management’s explanations and stated aims; subsequent reported results are needed to assess whether the initiative changes performance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do Albertsons’ incentive measures tell investors?
Albertsons’ 2026 Proxy Statement says its FY2025 annual corporate incentive plan weighted adjusted EBITDA at 60% and identical sales at 40%, with a maximum payout of 200% of target. That indicates which reported outcomes carried weight in that incentive plan; it does not show that incentives caused a particular result or that executives’ interests match every shareholder’s priorities.
The proxy defines identical sales as sales from stores open in both comparison periods. The measure includes direct-to-consumer digital sales, excludes fuel sales, and treats acquired stores as identical after one year. These rules matter when interpreting the 2.0% FY2025 growth and the 0.8% Q1 FY2026 decline: identical sales are not total sales, and digital sales growth is reported separately.
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The proxy also says one-time retention awards with two-year cliff vesting were given to named executive officers other than Morris and Sankaran in connection with Morris’s CEO transition. The company said the awards were intended to reduce organizational disruption and support continuity. They do not establish that retention risk has been eliminated.
What should investors watch next?
A useful monitoring plan links each leadership change to observable evidence, while avoiding the assumption that a change caused a result.
- Permanent CFO appointment and handoff: Watch for the named successor, transition details, and evidence that finance leadership and reporting responsibilities are clearly covered.
- Comparable-store performance: Track the next reported identical-sales trend alongside management’s explanation of grocery demand and customer value. Keep the company’s fuel exclusion and store-comparison definition in mind.
- Digital economics, not just growth: Follow digital sales growth, and look for disclosures that help assess its contribution and profitability rather than treating a rising sales percentage as sufficient evidence of returns.
- ACI Edge and productivity: Look for subsequent reported evidence of execution or financial impact instead of treating the launch announcement as a result.
- Board oversight: Review director independence, designation context, committee membership, and how the Audit and Technology committees oversee financial, technology, data, and cybersecurity matters.
- Cash generation and capital allocation: Compare actual cash generation and capital decisions with the company’s stated strategic priorities and board-reviewed budget and capital plan.
What this leadership story can—and cannot—say about ACI stock
The succession and role changes can help investors frame questions about execution, governance, and continuity. They do not establish that the changes caused FY2025 results, the Q1 FY2026 slowdown in identical sales, or digital growth. The operating figures cited here are company-reported; they are not independent estimates of leadership’s impact.
The available evidence also does not establish a current share price, valuation, fair value, or buy-or-sell conclusion. A leadership assessment is only one input to an investment thesis; a stock decision would also require current financial and valuation information that is not established here.
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