US natural and organic foods retailer Whole Foods Market has announced that it has promoted chief operating officers A.C. Gallo and Walter Robb to co-presidents of the company.

In addition, Whole Foods Market has expanded its executive management team by adding the newly created position of executive vice president of retail support to which Lee Valkenaar has been named. Valkenaar has served as president of the company’s Mid-Atlantic region since March 2001.

“Given our expected acceleration in growth, we believe it is important to have a top executive fully focused on certain areas that support our retail efforts including purchasing, marketing, and team member services,” said chairman and CEO John Mackey.

just-food.com