“Now we’ll be waiting to see if the newly reconstituted board can show a real commitment to fixing the operations at Whole Foods<br />and pursuing all avenues to shareholder value creation.”<br />The new directors announced by Whole Foods are Ken Hicks, a former chief executive of Foot Locker; Joe Mansueto, the founder<br />and chairman of Morningstar; Sharon McCollam, a former chief financial officer of Best Buy; Scott Powers, a former vice president of State Street Corporation; and Ron Shaich, the founder and chief executive of Panera Bread Company.<br />Each of the four board members Jana proposed — a group<br />that included Glenn Murphy, a former chief executive of Gap Inc., and Mark Bittman, a former food columnist for — bought their own stakes in the company.<br />Whole Foods, Facing Pressure From Activist Investor, Shakes Up Board -<br />By ALEXANDRA STEVENSONMAY 10, 2017<br />Whole Foods Market is shaking up its board — replacing five of the company’s directors<br />and naming a new chairwoman — as it confronts pressure from an activist investor and other restless shareholders.<br />“We decided we’d rather keep all options on the table, particularly given all the change at the company being announced<br />and the pivotal issues facing the company right now,” the Jana spokesman said in a statement.<br />The company also said that Keith Manbeck, a former vice president of Kohl’s, would become its new chief financial officer.<br />Jana Partners, a $8.5 billion hedge fund, announced a major investment in Whole Foods last month and also proposed four new board nominees.<br />The new chairwoman will be Gabrielle Sulzberger, a private equity executive, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
