Larree Renda

As one of Safeway’s top female executives, Larree Renda is responsible for all retail strategies and a broad range of administrative functions for one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America. Her responsibilities include retail strategy, labor relations, public affairs, government relations, health initiatives, human resources, quality assurance and consumer protection, industrial engineering, reengineering, and communications. She also manages the company’s relationship with Casa Ley, Safeway’s joint venture in Mexico, where she is also a member of the Board of Directors.

Safeway has a 49% interest in Casa Ley, S.A. de C.V., which operates 137 food and general merchandise stores in western Mexico. Larree began her Safeway career in 1974 at the age of 16. She progressed through Safeway’s retail ranks and earned the distinction of being the youngest store manager, district manager and retail operations manager in Safeway’s 80-year history. She was the first woman and youngest person promoted to Senior Vice President in 1994, and subsequently became Safeway’s first female Executive Vice President in 1999.

In 2001 and 2002, she was voted one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Business” by Fortune magazine. Larree is active in several community organizations. She chairs the Board for the Safeway Foundation, which oversees the Company’s charitable giving activities. Under her direction, each year Safeway contributes more than $248 million to a range of different charitable initiatives including food banks, education, breast and prostate cancer awareness and research, as well as other health services and organizations supporting people with disabilities such as Easter Seals, Special Olympics and MDA. Larree also serves as a National Vice President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Larree is a member of the Board of Directors for HSBC Finance Corporation and for HSBC North America Holdings Inc., and she serves on their Audit Committees. Larree is also a member of the Retailing Initiative Advisory Board of the Wharton School of Business, and serves as a Trustee on the National Joint Labor Management Committee. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the California Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Board of Regents for the University of Portland. Larree was the first woman inducted into the California Grocers Association Hall of Achievement for her career of significant industry accomplishments. She was recently named 2009 Food Industry Executive of the Year by the USC Marshall Food Industry Management Program. Ms. Renda is married and has three children.