Batenic/Haggai Position Change
Author: IGA News
January 07, 2010
(CHICAGO, IL) – Dr. Thomas S. Haggai, chairman of IGA, INC., today formally announced that IGA USA CEO Mark Batenic will, effective immediately, assume the additional roles of president and CEO of IGA INC., and CEO of IGA Global, positions formerly held by Dr. Thomas Haggai. Batenic, who was unanimously elected to the new positions by the IGA, INC., board of directors, will retain his previous responsibilities related to the domestic operations of 1,220 IGA USA stores, and add to those the responsibilities related to IGA’s global operations. Haggai retains his position as chairman of IGA, INC., and will serve as a brand ambassador for IGA in China. He also remains as chairman of the board of the IGA Coca-Cola Institute, IGA’s dynamic center for learning and research.
Haggai’s career with IGA began in 1972, when he, a Southern Baptist minister and renowned international speaker, became the first non-wholesale food executive elected to the IGA Board. In 1976, Haggai became chairman of the board, and chairman and CEO of IGA INC., in 1986. In late 2006, Mark Batenic, former executive vice president and chief operating officer of Clemens Markets, was recruited to head IGA’s domestic operations as CEO of IGA USA. At that time Haggai shifted his focus to operations within IGA Global, retaining his position as chairman and CEO of IGA, INC.
“It has been my good fortune through the years to be surrounded by talented industry leaders who have worked to make sure IGA continues to thrive,” Haggai said. “In three short years, Mark Batenic has proven to be one of the most dedicated and skilled of all. He and the IGA team have made great strides, delivering on his promise to give IGA Retailers the resources they need to elevate the status of the brand in IGA communities throughout the U.S. His accomplishments in the U.S. made it very easy for me to name him as my successor. There’s no doubt that IGA will continue to grow and thrive in the U.S. and globally under his insightful direction.”
“I’m extremely appreciative of the confidence that IGA, INC., Chairman Tom Haggai and the IGA board have placed in me, and look forward to working together with the IGA team around the world to fulfill our goal of making IGA the preferred brand of independents and regional chains here in the U.S. and globally,” IGA CEO Mark Batenic said.
IGA is the world’s largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $21 billion per year. The Alliance includes more than 4,000 Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported by 36 distribution companies and more than 55 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items. IGA has operations in 46 of the United States and more than 40 countries, commonwealths and territories on all six inhabited continents.
