Albertsons Companies Appoints Gautam Kotwal EVP, C

BOISE, Idaho, May 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Albertsons Companies announced today that Gautam Kotwal is joining the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Data and Analytics Officer. In this new role, Gautam Kotwal will be responsible for leading Albertsons Cos.’ innovation efforts to drive value, create competitive differentiation and design personalized shopper experiences wherever and however they choose to shop. “Our omnichannel platform is something our organization is deeply committed to, and to best serve our customers who shop each channel, we must begin to look at data across not only our customer base but also within our company to further innovate within our industry,” said Jim Donald, Albertsons Companies President and Chief Operating Officer. “Gautam possesses a unique blend of technical skill, boundless enthusiasm and a commitment to developing people and teams, all of which will serve him well in this new role. I’m excited to have Gautam join our company and formalize our data and analytics efforts under his leadership so that we can better engage our customers, no matter where they shop with us.” Most recently, Gautam Kotwal served as Vice President of Analytics, Data Platform & Data Science Engineering for Kohl’s Department Stores for the last two years. He built Kohl’s BigData team, with the overarching goal of enabling an insights-driven organization by democratizing data and science. He joined Kohl’s first in 2012 as the Director of Innovation before moving to Director of Innovation and Data Science. Prior to working at Kohl’s, Gautam Kotwal worked at Netflix where he began as an Engineering Manager and was quickly promoted to Director of Engineering where he was responsible for Netflix Streaming test strategy, vision, test architecture & test automation. Gautam Kotwal will be based at the company’s campus in Pleasanton, CA, and report to Donald. About Albertsons CompaniesAlbertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. We operate stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs, as well as meal kit company Plated based in New York City. Albertsons Companies is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2017 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the company gave nearly $300 million in food and financial support. These efforts helped millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities and veterans outreach. Important Notice Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our perspectives and expectations, are forward looking statements. The words “expect,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan” and similar expressions, when related to the company and its subsidiaries, indicate forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current view of management and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on various assumptions and factors, including general economic, market, industry and operational factors. Any changes to these assumptions or factors may lead to practical results different from current expectations. Excessive reliance should not be placed on those statements. Forward-looking statements relate only to the date they were made, and the company and its subsidiaries undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made.

Christine Wilcox Albertsons Companies 208-395-4163 Christine.Wilcox@albertsons.com