Albertsons personnel move brings together pharmacy, center store
Albertsons announced Tuesday that Mark Panzer, who was named the company's SVP pharmacy, health and wellness in May 2015, has accepted the additional responsibility of leading general merchandise and HABA (health and beauty aid).
“Mark's impact on our operation in 2015 was immediate. He brought a wealth of industry experience with him when he joined our team that make him a natural fit to lead GM and HABA in addition to his current responsibilities,” Albertsons EVP and chief marketing and merchandising officer Shane Sampson said. “We are completely committed to offering unique and innovative products that meet customers' changing preferences throughout the store, including GM and HABA. I know Mark will tackle the responsibilities in these high-growth categories with the same enthusiasm he has brought to our Pharmacy and Health & Wellness operation.”
Panzer's retail career began at Osco Drug stores over 40 years ago. He held senior leadership roles at American Drug Stores and Albertson's, following their merger in 1999, as well as Rite Aid and Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy. He returned to Albertsons in May 2015 to oversee the company's health and wellness initiatives and 1,760 pharmacies.
“Health and wellness reaches well beyond the pharmacy and further into a traditional grocery store,” Panzer said. “As customers move to take more control of their health care, retailers need to pivot quickly to support their diverse needs. Our teams understand their customers' needs better than anyone in the business, and by combining our pharmacy, health and wellness, GM and HABA teams, we'll be well positioned to serve our customers across our diverse market areas.”
Panzer will keep an office out of the company's Boise, Idaho corporate campus.
In addition, Albertsons announced that Tamara Pattison has been named SVP digital marketing and ecommerce, which includes all aspects of shopper marketing, digital marketing, loyalty and rewards and ecommerce.
"While retail has always moved fast, today's landscape of digital media and customer preferences is evolving at a particularly phenomenal pace," Sampson said. "The ability to interpret and predict trends is no longer a periodic practice. It's day by day [and] we must be nimble to stay in front," he said. "Tamara has already proven herself to be one of the best in the industry. Her background in shopping trends and loyalty make her uniquely qualified to position us as a leader in digital marketing and ecommerce."
Pattison, who most recently served the company as group VP digital, loyalty and customer analytics, has been with the company for 10 years, honing skills gathered in marketing, product development and consumer shopping trends at Yahoo, DemandTec Corporation and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. She began her career at Safeway in 2006 as the director of product management on the ecommerce team, and was promoted to group director of loyalty product management in 2011 to develop the digital execution for the "just for U" initiative. In 2013, she was promoted to VP product management for loyalty, leading loyalty product and program strategy for two years prior to the merger with Albertsons.
Pattison will office out of Pleasanton, California.