BJ’s taps Hess Retail CEO as president, COO; successor to current CEO

Westborough, Mass. – Has BJ’s Wholesale Club found its next CEO?



The retailer named Christopher Baldwin, former CEO of Hess Retail, as president and COO, a position in which Baldwin is poised to succeed Laura Sen, current CEO of BJ’s.



Baldwin will assume his new responsibilities at the chain on Sept. 8, where he will oversee merchandising, logistics, membership, marketing club operations.



He will also join the board of directors at BJ’s, a company wholly owned by affiliates of Leonard Green & Partners, CVC Capital Partners and its management team.



"I am very excited to welcome Chris to the BJ's team," said Sen. "Chris' record of excellence in leading large and successful organizations in the retail and consumer sectors will help us to build upon BJ's strong heritage of offering a distinctive shopping experience and deep value proposition to BJ's millions of loyal members."



Baldwin is a veteran retail and consumer packaged goods executive who most recently served as CEO of Hess Retail Corporation, an operator of over 1,300 fuel and convenience stores on the East Coast prior to its sale to Marathon Petroleum Corporation.



Before joining Hess, Baldwin served in a variety of leadership roles including president of Snacks at Kraft Foods (Nabisco), president of North America at the Hershey Company, and several executive roles at Procter and Gamble.



"I am privileged and excited to have the opportunity to join BJ's terrific team," Baldwin said. "BJ's operates a unique and well positioned model within the very exciting wholesale club retail channel. I look forward to working with BJ's executives, team members, and its board of directors to help bring value to all our stakeholders."



BJ’s was taken private in 2011 by Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners. Since then, the investment has been highly successful, according to Jonathan Seiffer, senior partner at Leonard Green & Partners



BJ’s has long been a distant competitor to rivals Sam’s Club and Costco. Its main point of difference at 208 clubs in 15 eastern states is an expanded assortment and offering of smaller pack sizes. The typical BJs offered around 7,000 items whereas Sam’s and Costco generally stock fewer than 4,000 items in similar sized warehouse clubs.