BJ’s Wholesale Club, a Westborough operator of membership warehouse clubs, on Thursday named Christopher Baldwin executive chairman and promoted Lee Delaney to succeed Baldwin as CEO.
In addition, the retailer appointed Thomas Kingsbury, the former CEO of Burlington Stores Inc. in New Jersey, to the company’s board of directors. Delaney, the current president of the company, was also appointed to the company’s board.
The changes are effective on Feb. 2.
In his role as executive chairman, Baldwin, who joined the company and the board in 2015, will serve as a strategic advisor to Delaney and will lead the board of directors.
Delaney joined BJ’s in 2016 as executive vice president, chief growth officer. Prior to joining BJ’s, Delaney was a partner at Bain & Co. in Boston where he headed the firm’s consumer products practice. Delaney holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Massachusetts.
Kingsbury replaces Cameron Breitner, who is stepping down from the board. He served as CEO of Burlington from 2008 to 2019. Prior to that, he was senior executive vice president for information services, e-commerce, marketing and business development for Milwaukee retailer Kohl’s Corp.
Kingsbury also held management positions with The May Department Stores Co. in St. Louis, including president and CEO of the Filene’s/Kaufmann’s division. He serves as a member of the board of directors of Tractor Supply Co. in Tennessee.
Breitner is a partner at New York City investment firm CVC and joined the BJ’s board in 2011.
Baldwin joined BJ’s in 2015 as president, chief operating officer and director. He was named CEO in 2016 and chairman in 2018. Prior to joining BJ’s, he was the CEO of Hess Retail Corp. a spin-off of Hess Corp. in New York City. Before joining Hess, he held various leadership roles at Nabisco, Hershey and Procter and Gamble. Baldwin is also the chairman of the National Retail Federation, which calls itself the world’s largest retail trade association.
BJ’s operates 219 clubs and 144 BJ’s gas locations in 17 states.
The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
