PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway last week said that it has appointed 16-year veteran Jonathan Mayes to senior vice president of government relations, public affairs, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Mayes, 52, joined Safeway in 1994 as a senior attorney. In 1996, he joined the company's government relations team as a director and was promoted to vice president of that function in 1999. In 2008, Mayes was named group vice president of government relations in charge of the team of professionals that focuses on local, state and federal government matters in the geographies in which Safeway operates in the United States and Canada. Before joining Safeway, Mayes was senior corporate counsel for Lucky Stores, and an attorney at Donahue Gallagher Woods. “Jonathan is an exceptional leader and has successfully represented the company and its stakeholders in his role as our key government affairs person,” Larree Renda, executive vice president, chief strategist and administrative officer, said in a statement.
DONCKERS NAMED MI PUEBLO PRESIDENT
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Mi Pueblo Food Center last week said Rich Donckers has been named president of the 17-store chain. Donckers was formerly vice president, food retailing, Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., between 1987 and 1993, where he was responsible for creating the company's food division and for developing its food management organization and strategy. At Mi Pueblo he will be responsible for spearheading “a major growth spurt,” a company spokesman told SN. Annual volume at Mi Pueblo is estimated at approximately $300 million. After his stint at Wal-Mart, Donckers set up Retail Strategies International, a consulting firm based in Rogers, Ark., in 1993. He subsequently developed an upscale fresh meals/specialty food company called MarketFoods, which opened stores in Rogers and Tulsa, Okla. Donckers started his industry career at H.E. Butt Grocery Co., San Antonio, where over his seven years there he helped develop the chain's superstores. He subsequently spent 15 years with Jewel Cos., the Chicago-based division of the former American Stores Co., prior to joining Wal-Mart in 1987.
