Pittsburgh — The board of directors of GNC Holdings, Inc., a leading global specialty retailer of health and wellness products, has appointed Ken Martindale as its permanent chief executive officer. Martindale succeeds interim CEO Bob Moran, who has been elected non-executive chairman of the GNC board.
Moran will work closely with Martindale to ensure a smooth leadership transition and continued execution of GNC’s successful transformation plan. As part of the transition, Michael F. Hines will step down as chairman, but will remain on the board. These changes are effective September 11, 2017.
Martindale most recently served as CEO of Rite Aid Stores and president of Rite Aid Corporation, where he was instrumental in leading the company’s transformation, including the rollout of a new store format.
“Ken is a proven leader with deep retail expertise, intimate knowledge of our business through his years of leadership with our partner, Rite Aid, and a record of success in transforming retail business models,” says Hines. “I want to thank Bob for stepping in as interim CEO and for putting GNC on the right path.”
Adds Martindale: “I’m excited to work with Bob and the team to build on the momentum they’ve created.”
Martindale joined Rite Aid Corporation in December 2008 as senior executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and logistics and was named senior executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2010. In June 2013, he was promoted to president and chief operating officer and took on the additional role as CEO of Rite Aid Stores in August 2015. Prior to joining Rite Aid, he was co-president, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Pathmark Stores, Inc.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, GNC Holdings, Inc. is a leading global specialty health, wellness and performance retailer. As of June 30, 2017, GNC had approximately 9,000 locations, of which approximately 6,800 retail locations are in the United States (including 2,378 Rite Aid franchise store-within-a-store locations) and franchise operations in approximately 50 countries.
SOURCE: GNC Holdings, Inc.