Albertsons announced that Shane Sampson, executive vice president and chief marketing and merchandising officer, has decided to leave the company Sept. 7.  The company has launched a search for a successor.

“Shane has been instrumental in building the Albertsons Companies we know today — both at a division level and nationally,” said Vivek Sankaran, president chief executive officer of Albertsons Cos.

Sampson has spent over 35 years in the grocery industry working at several chains. He began his career as a courtesy clerk and worked his way up through Albertson’s ranks, culminating in serving as president of both the Florida and intermountain divisions.

Sampson previously left the company in 2002 and spent several years with Sam’s Club. He returned to Albertson’s LLC’s Southern division at its inception and served as vice president of marketing and merchandising when he left to accept the role of senior vice president of sales and operations at Ahold’s Giant of Landover banner.

In 2013, Shane rejoined the Albertsons team when he was tapped for president of Shaw’s and Star Market, and in 2014, he moved to Chicago upon being named president of Jewel Osco.

“Since 2013, [Sampson] has helped our team turn around operations in addition to building a robust merchandising and marketing function to help support our 2,200 locations," said Sankaran. He launched our e-commerce business in key markets and strengthened it in areas where it had operated since 2002, and accelerated the growth of our Own Brands business by envisioning a faster, smarter way to connect with customer needs. He has been a champion for omnichannel growth both internally and with our supplier community. Throughout his years with Albertsons and in the industry, he has mentored countless thousands in running great stores. I know that he will do great work in whatever he chooses to take on next.”