Kelly Kauffman will join Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (AWG) as chief financial officer, effective July 20. Kauffman will succeed Gary Koch, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Kauffman brings a comprehensive career in financial leadership spanning retail, financial services and consumer goods, with deep expertise in financial planning and analysis, corporate transformation initiatives and operational finance.
Most recently, Kauffman served as senior vice president of financial planning and analysis for BJ’s Wholesale Club, where he led corporate financial planning and analysis teams across multiple financial disciplines and modernized forecasting and reporting through the implementation of new planning systems.
Previously, Kauffman was vice president of finance for Whole Foods Market, where he led global financial planning and analysis functions, managed annual and long-term financial planning and spearheaded major continuous improvement and operational excellence activities. He played a key role in developing the financial modeling that supported the company’s sale to Amazon and provided executive oversight for large-scale financial system transformations, including Workday, Anaplan and Adaptive Insights, while building strong, cross-functional finance and operations teams, the company says.
Earlier in his career, Kauffman held progressive corporate finance and audit roles at Ezcorp Inc., Pamida, Cabela’s Inc., Nestlé USA and Grant Thornton LLP. He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Kelly is a proven finance leader with a strong track record of driving performance, improving processes and building high-performing teams,” says Dan Funk, president and CEO of AWG. “His experience in retail, coupled with his ability to lead transformation and strengthen financial operations, makes him an excellent fit for AWG as we continue to grow and support our members. We’re excited to welcome him to the team.
“We are also incredibly grateful for Gary Koch’s outstanding leadership and contributions to AWG over the past 30 years,” Funk adds. “His impact on our organization has been significant, and we look forward to celebrating his career as he prepares for retirement.”
