View All Site Content

 

Richard W. Dreiling

Richard W. Dreiling, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board

Richard W. Dreiling joined Dollar General in January 2008 as CEO, and was named chairman of the board in December 2008.  He spearheaded the company’s re-emergence as a public company through a successful Initial Public Offering on the NYSE November 13, 2009. 

 

Prior to coming to Dollar General, Dreiling had been the chairman and CEO of Duane Reade Holdings, Inc. Before that, Dreiling served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Longs Drug Stores Corporation, a chain of retail drug stores on the West Coast and Hawaii, starting there in 2003. Before that, he was executive vice president of marketing, manufacturing and distribution of Safeway, Inc., a food and drug retailer. Earlier still, he served as president of Vons, a Southern California food and drug division of Safeway, Inc.

 

Dreiling earned a bachelor's degree in industrial relations from Rockhurst University in Missouri. He began his career in 1969 as a part-time clerk with Safeway, Inc. in Kansas and he worked his way through the retail ranks before being promoted in 1998 to president of Vons.

 

Dreiling serves on the board of the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Dreiling was a finalist in Ernst & Young’s 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for the Metro New York area. In October 2007, Dreiling received the Jacob K. Javits Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his efforts to raise awareness for The ALS Association and support its work to find a cure for the disease. He was also a recipient of the 2006 Human Rights Award given by the Jewish Labor Committee in recognition of his efforts to promote the shared social justice agenda between the AJC and the trade union movement. He was honored again in October 2006 as their “Person of the Year.”

 

Back to Top

 

David L. Beré, President and Chief Strategy Officer
David Beré is president and chief strategy officer of Dollar General. He joined the company in December 2006 after serving as a director since 2002.

 

Beré served from December 2003 until June 2005 as corporate vice president of Ralcorp Holdings Inc., and as the president and chief executive officer of Bakery Chef Inc. a leading manufacturer of frozen bakery products acquired by Ralcorp Holdings in December 2003. From 1998 until the acquisition, Beré was the president and chief executive officer of Bakery Chef Inc. and also served on its board of directors. From 1996 to 1998, Beré served as president and chief executive officer of McCain Foods USA, a manufacturer and marketer of frozen foods and a subsidiary of McCain Foods Limited. He spent 17 years at The Quaker Oats Company, where he served as president of the breakfast division and the golden grain division.

 

In 1983, he was appointed White House Fellow by President Ronald Reagan. Beré earned both his bachelor’s degree and Master of Business Administration from Indiana University.

 

Back to Top

 

David M. Tehle, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Prior to joining Dollar General in June 2004, Tehle spent seven years with Haggar Corporation as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He has held leadership positions with several world leaders in manufacturing, including vice president of finance for The Stanley Works, Mechanics Tools Division, and vice president of finance and chief financial officer for Hat Brands Inc. Tehle gained 12 years of financial experience through management positions at Ryder System Inc. and through various financial and accounting positions at Texas Instruments Inc.

 

Tehle earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

 

He has served as a director of Jack in the Box Inc. since December 2004.

 

Back to Top

 

Kathleen R. Guion, Division President of Store Operations and Store Development
At Dollar General, Guion oversees more than 8,700 stores in 35 states.

 

Before assuming her current role in November 2005, Guion served as executive vice president of store operations. Prior to joining Dollar General in October 2003, she served as president and chief executive officer of Duke and Long Distributing Company, a convenience store chain operator and wholesale distributor of petroleum products. Prior to that time, she was an operating partner for Devon Partners (1999 to 2000), where she developed operating plans and assisted in the identification of acquisition targets in the convenience store industry. Additionally, Guion served as president and chief operating officer of E-Z Serve Corporation (1997 to 1998), an owner/operator of convenience stores, mini-marts and gas marts. From 1987 to 1997, Guion served as the vice president and general manager of the largest division (Chesapeake division) of company-owned stores at 7-Eleven Inc., a convenience store chain. Other positions held by Guion during her tenure at 7-Eleven include district manager, zone manager, operations manager and division manager (Midwest division). 

 

Back to Top

 

Todd Vasos, Division President and Chief Merchandising Officer

Todd Vasos is division president and chief merchandising officer responsible for merchandising, marketing and global sourcing.

 

Prior to joining Dollar General in December 2008, Vasos was executive vice president and chief operating officer at Longs Drugs, where he was responsible for all pharmacy and front-end marketing, merchandising, procurement, supply chain, advertising, store development, store layout, store operations, loss prevention, store construction and the operation of three distribution centers. Before that, Vasos served for seven years as Longs’ senior vice president and chief merchandising officer. In that role, he spearheaded the company’s successful private label program, centralized key marketing and merchandising functions, significantly reduced inventory and developed and launched the company’s ‘store within a store’ concepts. Vasos also has served in leadership positions at Eckerd Drug Corp. and Phar-Mor Food and Drug Inc.
 
Vasos earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Western Carolina University. 

 

Back to Top

  

Susan S. Lanigan, Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Lanigan joined Dollar General in July 2002 as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.  She was promoted to senior vice president in October 2003 and to executive vice president in March 2005.  Previously, Lanigan was senior vice president, general counsel and secretary with Zale Corporation, a specialty retailer of fine jewelry.  Her legal experience also includes positions with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and the law firm of Troutman Sanders.
 
Lanigan received her undergraduate and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia.  Lanigan is a director on the board of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
 

Back to Top

 

Anita Elliott, Senior Vice President and Controller
Anita Elliott joined Dollar General in August 2005. Prior to joining Dollar General, Elliott served as Vice President and Controller of Big Lots, Inc., a closeout retailer, from May 2001 to August 2005. Overseeing a staff of 140 employees at Big Lots, Elliott was responsible for accounting operations, financial reporting and internal audit. Prior to serving at Big Lots, she served as Vice President and Controller for Jitney-Jungle Stores of America, Inc., a grocery retailer, from April 1998 to March 2001. At Jitney-Jungle, Elliott was responsible for the accounting operations and the internal and external financial reporting functions. Prior to serving at Jitney-Jungle, she practiced public accounting for 12 years, 6 of which were with Ernst & Young LLP.

 

Back to Top

 

John W. Flanigan, Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain

Flanigan joined Dollar General as senior vice president, global supply chain in May 2008. He has 25 years of management experience in retail logistics. Prior to joining Dollar General, he was group vice president of logistics and distribution for Longs Drug Stores Corporation from October 2005 to April 2008. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing warehousing, inbound and outbound transportation and facility maintenance to service 500+ retail outlets. From September 2001 to October 2005 he served as vice president of logistics for Safeway, Inc. where he oversaw distribution of food products from Safeway distribution centers to all retail outlets, inbound traffic and transportation. He also held distribution and logistics leadership positions at Vons - a Safeway company, Specialized Distribution Management Inc., and Crum & Crum Logistics.

 

 Back to Top

 

Bob Ravener, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer 

Bob Ravener is senior vice president and chief people officer at Dollar General, responsible for all human resources initiatives.

 

Before joining Dollar General in 2008, Ravener was most recently senior vice president of U.S. partner resources for Starbucks Coffee Company where he oversaw all aspects of human resources activity for more than 10,000 stores. He also served as vice president, partner resources-Eastern division. Prior to Starbucks, Ravener held vice president of human resources roles for The Home Depot Store Support Center and a domestic field division. Ravener also served in human resources executive roles at Footstar, Inc. and PepsiCo.

 

Ravener served in the U.S. Navy as a strategic weapons submarine officer. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and also earned an MBA in general management from New York University.

 

 Back to Top

 

 

Board Member Biographies

 

Raj K. Agrawal
Mr. Agrawal joined KKR in May 2006 and is a member of the Infrastructure team. He previously was a member of KKR’s Retail and Energy industry teams. From 2002 to May 2006, he was a Vice President with Warburg Pincus, where he participated in the execution and oversight of a number of investments in the energy sector. Mr. Agrawal’s prior experience also includes Thayer Capital Partners and McKinsey & Co., where he provided strategic and mergers and acquisitions advice to clients in a variety of industries. He has been a member of our Board since July 2007. KKR’s affiliates indirectly own a substantial portion of our outstanding common stock through their investment in Buck Holdings, LLC and Buck Holdings, L.P.

 

Back to Top

 

Warren F. Bryant

Mr. Bryant served as the President and Chief Executive Office of Longs Drug Stores Corporation, a retail drugstore chain on the West Coast and in Hawaii, from 2002 through 2008 and as its Chairman of the Board from 2003 through his retirement in 2008. Prior to joining Longs Drug Stores, Mr. Bryant served as the Senior Vice President of The Kroger Co., a retail grocery chain, from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Bryant is a director of OfficeMax Incorporated. Mr. Bryant has been designated to lead any executive sessions of the independent members of our Board.

 

Back to Top

 

Michael M. Calbert
Mr. Calbert has been with KKR for over nine years and during that time has been directly involved with several portfolio companies. He heads the Retail industry team. Mr. Calbert is currently on the board of directors of Toys “R” Us, Inc. and U.S. Foodservice. He joined Randall’s Food Markets as the Chief Financial Officer in 1994, ultimately taking the company through a transaction with KKR in June 1997. He left Randall’s Food Markets after the company was sold in September 1999 and joined KKR. Mr. Calbert started his professional career as a consultant with Arthur Andersen Worldwide, where his primary focus was on the retail/consumer industry. He has been a member of our Board of Directors since July 2007 and served as our Chairman until December 2008.  KKR’s affiliates indirectly own a substantial portion of our outstanding common stock through their investment in Buck Holdings, LLC and Buck Holdings, L.P.  Mr. Calbert has been designated to lead any executive session of the non-management members of our Board.

 

Back to Top

 

Adrian Jones
Mr. Jones has been with Goldman, Sachs & Co. since 1994. He is a managing director in Principal Investment Area (PIA) in New York where he focuses on consumer-related and healthcare opportunities. The GS Investors indirectly own a substantial portion of our outstanding stock through their investment in Buck Holdings, LLC and Buck Holdings, L.P. Mr. Jones is currently on the board of directors of Biomet, Inc., Education Management Corporation, HealthMarkets, Inc. and Signature Hospital, LLC. He has been a member of our Board since July 2007.

 

Back to Top

 

William C. Rhodes, III

Mr. Rhodes was elected Chairman of AutoZone, a specialty retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories, in June 2007. He has served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of AutoZone since 2005. Prior to his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rhodes was Executive Vice President-Store Operations and Commercial. Prior to fiscal 2005, he had been Senior Vice President-Supply Chain and Information Technology since fiscal 2002, and prior thereto had been Senior Vice President-Supply Chain since 2001. Prior to that time, he served in various capacities within AutoZone, including Vice President-Stores in 2000, Senior Vice President-Finance and Vice President-Finance in 1999 and Vice President-Operations Analysis and Support from 1997 to 1999. Prior to 1994, Mr. Rhodes was a manager with Ernst & Young, LLP. We have designated Mr. Rhodes as an audit committee finance expert as defined in the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Back to Top