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Albertsons’ leadership changes point to a planned CEO succession, a reshaping of commercial and technology responsibilities, evolving board expertise, and an active CFO handoff—not, by themselves, proof that the company’s strategy is working or that its stock is attractive. The useful test is whether accountability becomes clearer and subsequent results support the stated priorities. The latest operating results covered here are for Q1 FY2026, ended June 20, 2026; the latest leadership event is the September 30, 2026 appointment of Cody Perdue as interim CFO.
What changed in Albertsons’ leadership, and when?
The sequence matters: Albertsons first made an internal CEO succession, then reassigned commercial and technology responsibilities, changed board leadership and membership, and most recently began a CFO transition.
| Date | Change | What investors can assess |
|---|---|---|
| February 27, 2025 announcement; effective May 1, 2025 | CEO Vivek Sankaran announced his retirement as CEO and director. Susan Morris, then COO and an Albertsons executive since 2010, succeeded him and joined the board. | Whether a planned internal handoff supports continuity while producing measurable progress on the company’s priorities. |
| May 30, 2025 announcement | Omer Gajial, EVP and Chief Merchandising & Digital Officer, decided to leave for opportunities outside Albertsons and remained available through late August. The company redistributed responsibilities among Michelle Larson, Jennifer Saenz, and Anuj Dhanda. | Whether the revised ownership of merchandising, digital, loyalty, media, and technology makes execution and results easier to attribute. |
| September 17, 2025 announcement; further changes through February 2026 | Jim Donald retired as chair and director. Independent director Kim Fennebresque became chair, and David Zinsner joined as an independent director. Allen Gibson retired; later director changes included Scott Wille and Brian Rice. | Whether board independence, shareholder designation rights, and committee expertise support effective oversight. |
| September 30, 2026 | Sharon McCollam announced plans to retire as president and CFO. Cody Perdue became interim CFO while retaining his treasury, investor relations, and risk-management duties. McCollam will advise through February 27, 2027, and the permanent-CFO search is underway. | Whether the company appoints a permanent CFO, manages the handoff, and maintains financial and operating discipline through the transition. |
What does Susan Morris’s CEO transition mean for the investment thesis?
Morris’s appointment was a planned internal succession, not an unexpected departure or a publicly described board intervention. The SEC-filed announcement says Sankaran’s decision was not the result of a disagreement over company operations, policies, or practices. Morris had served as COO before becoming CEO. That background may support continuity, but it does not establish that she will deliver better results.
In the succession announcement, Morris said: “At a time of profound change for the grocery industry, I am honored to be appointed as the next CEO of Albertsons Cos.” That is her statement about the appointment, not evidence of its eventual impact. The investment question is whether her leadership converts stated priorities—customer value, digital and loyalty engagement, technology modernization, and productivity—into sustained operating outcomes.
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Albertsons disclosed one-time retention awards with two-year cliff vesting for named executive officers other than Morris and Sankaran in connection with the CEO transition. The company said the awards were intended to reduce organizational disruption and support continuity. They indicate a continuity measure, not proof that retention or execution risks have been eliminated.
How were commercial and technology responsibilities redistributed?
After Gajial’s planned departure, Albertsons divided duties that had been concentrated in his role across commercial and technology leaders. The company described his former remit as including digital, ecommerce, pharmacy, health and wellness, merchandising, and retail media.
| Executive | Role or remit announced | Investor question |
|---|---|---|
| Michelle Larson | Moved from EVP, Operations—West to EVP, Chief Merchandising Officer. Her scope included Own Brands, merchandising strategy and services, pricing and promotion, space planning, fuel, and commission income. | Do merchandising, pricing, and own-brand decisions support customer value and sales without undermining profitability? |
| Jennifer Saenz | Became EVP, Chief Commercial Officer, adding digital experiences, marketing and loyalty, and Albertsons Media Collective to pharmacy and ecommerce operations. | Are digital, loyalty, media, pharmacy, and ecommerce efforts coordinated, and do they contribute to profitable growth? |
| Anuj Dhanda | Chief Technology & Transformation Officer, with an expanded remit covering data science and product management. | Does the broader technology remit translate into reliable delivery, useful customer experiences, and productivity gains? |
This is evidence of a change in organizational design and accountabilities. To judge whether it improved execution, look for reported outcomes and clear responsibility for them—not simply the presence of new titles or broader remits.
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What do the board changes signal about oversight?
Fennebresque, an independent director since 2015, became chair after Donald’s retirement. Zinsner, then Intel’s executive vice president and CFO, joined as an independent director. Albertsons described Zinsner’s finance, technology, and AI experience as relevant to its digital strategy; that is the company’s rationale, not evidence that the appointment has improved performance.
The 2026 proxy adds important context to board composition. It says Cerberus designee Gibson retired in September 2025; Zinsner was designated by Cerberus following Gibson’s retirement; Scott Wille was designated by Cerberus in November 2025 after Lisa Gray’s resignation, with Gray becoming a Cerberus-designated observer. Brian Rice joined in February 2026 after an independent search for cybersecurity, data, and IT expertise, and joined the Audit and Technology committees in April 2026.
For investors, the relevant governance questions are who is independent, how shareholder designation rights shape board composition, and whether directors’ expertise is reflected in committee oversight. Rice’s committee assignments are a concrete point to follow when assessing oversight of cybersecurity, data, and technology risks; the appointment itself does not demonstrate the quality of that oversight.
Who is Albertsons’ new CFO, and what remains unresolved?
As of September 30, 2026, Cody Perdue is interim CFO. He joined Albertsons in 2013 and had been senior vice president of Treasury, Investor Relations and Risk Management since 2025; he continues those duties alongside the interim CFO role. McCollam plans to retire as president and CFO but will remain an adviser through February 27, 2027. Albertsons says it has begun a permanent-CFO search.
The transition is still in progress. The permanent appointment, its timing, the division of duties during the search, and the effectiveness of the eventual handoff are therefore open items—not completed outcomes to credit or criticize.
What do the latest reported results say—and not say?
Albertsons’ FY2025 results provide an annual baseline; Q1 FY2026 then showed a mixed picture. The figures below are company-reported. Adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures and should be distinguished from net income.
| Measure | FY2025, ended February 28, 2026 | Q1 FY2026, ended June 20, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Identical sales | Increased 2.0% | Decreased 0.8% |
| Digital sales | Increased 21% | Increased 13% |
| Net income | $217 million | $85 million |
| Adjusted net income | $1,209 million | $210 million |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $3,902 million | $1,013 million |
FY2025 contained 53 weeks; FY2024 contained 52. Q1 FY2026 was a 16-week period. Those period differences make simple quarter-to-year comparisons misleading. The figures establish what Albertsons reported for each period, but they do not isolate the contribution of Morris’s succession, the revised commercial structure, the board changes, or any individual executive.
The company’s annual strategy emphasized digital connection and loyalty, customer value, expansion of Albertsons Media Collective, technology and AI modernization, and productivity. In Q1 FY2026, management 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 characterizations and plans; investors can test them against later results rather than treating them as independent causal findings.
Morris characterized the annual results this way: “Fiscal 2025 was a year of disciplined execution and resilience, as we closed the year with a solid fourth quarter that delivered strong Adjusted EBITDA despite meaningful top-line pharmacy-related headwinds.” On Q1 FY2026, she said: “While these results did not meet our expectations, they underscored the need to move faster.” These comments frame management’s interpretation; the reported metrics remain the measurable evidence.
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Which metrics are most useful for testing execution?
Identical sales, not total sales
Albertsons defines identical sales using 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. It is therefore not interchangeable with total sales or a measure of unit volume alone. A 0.8% decline in Q1 FY2026 identical sales alongside 13% digital sales growth shows that digital growth did not prevent the comparable-sales measure from turning negative; it does not, by itself, identify the cause.
Digital growth and its contribution
Digital sales growth is relevant to a strategy centered on digital experiences and loyalty, but growth alone does not show profitability, customer retention, or incremental sales. Watch for disclosure that helps distinguish sales growth from contribution to margins, cash generation, and customer value.
Profitability and cash generation
Net income is a reported GAAP measure; adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA are company-adjusted measures. Keep them separate when tracking results over time, and examine their reconciliation and the company’s explanation of adjustments in the applicable earnings materials. For an investment thesis, also assess whether operating performance converts into cash and whether capital allocation matches stated priorities.
Executive incentives
Albertsons’ 2026 Proxy Statement says its FY2025 annual corporate incentive plan weighted adjusted EBITDA at 60% and identical sales at 40%, with payout capped at 200% of target. Those weights show which reported corporate outcomes informed that plan; they do not prove that incentives caused the results or that all strategic priorities were captured.
What should investors watch in the next reports?
- CFO handoff: the permanent-CFO appointment, timing, and how responsibilities shift from Perdue and McCollam.
- Comparable-sales trend: whether identical sales stabilize or improve, using Albertsons’ definition rather than substituting total sales.
- Digital economics: whether continued digital growth is accompanied by evidence about profitability, customer value, or contribution to results.
- Execution initiatives: whether ACI Edge, productivity work, technology modernization, and the expanded commercial structure have observable milestones and outcomes.
- Board oversight: how the board and relevant committees oversee finance, technology, data, cybersecurity, and the risks associated with shareholder designation rights.
- Cash and capital allocation: whether cash generation and capital decisions remain consistent with the company’s stated strategy.
Use the next earnings release and proxy disclosures to update these checks. The available figures and announcements do not establish that leadership changes caused operating results, nor do they establish a current share price, fair value, or whether ACI is attractively priced. They support an execution-focused framework, not a buy or sell conclusion.
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