United Natural Foods names Giorgio Matteo Tarditi president, CFO

United Natural Foods Inc. announced Wednesday that Giorgio “Matteo” Tarditi has been named president and chief financial officer, effective April 15.

He succeeds John W. Howard, UNFI’s current chief financial officer, who will leave the company following a transition period.

Sandy Douglas, CEO and president of UNFI, said in a released statement, “Matteo is a proven executive who, over the course of his more than 26 years at GE, served as CFO for seven business units, including Renewable Energy and Energy Connections as externally reported segments, and large divisions of the Power, Oil & Gas, Aerospace and Healthcare businesses.

"His deep financial expertise and knowledge of these businesses enabled him to successfully drive operational excellence, efficiency, and increased productivity in complex transformations and M&A integrations," Douglas continued. "We are pleased to welcome Matteo to our team and look forward to his contributions.

“We also want to thank John Howard for his years of dedicated service and leadership. John played an instrumental role in the integration efforts following the 2018 SUPERVALU acquisition and in helping UNFI navigate the challenges of the global pandemic. I have greatly appreciated his counsel since I joined UNFI.”

Giorgio Matteo Tarditi, who will become president and CFO of UNFI effective April 15.

In his new role, Tarditi will oversee corporate finance, strategy, financial planning and analysis, investor relations, risk management, and more.

“I am thrilled to join UNFI’s talented team, renowned for its customer-centric and collaborative culture,” Tarditi said in the statement. “I am excited by the opportunity to contribute to the mission of feeding families across North America and to support the customer- and supplier-driven strategy and transformation plan for the company.

"I look forward to leading the finance organization and partnering with the people who make UNFI the market leader and a company that delivers profitable growth and value creation for shareholders," he said.

Tarditi began his career with GE in 1997 and held positions of increasing responsibility in numerous divisions until 2021, when he served as Group Financial Planning & Analysis Leader in GE Corporate until now.

A frequent speaker on global leadership, turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions, and talent motivation, Tarditi holds a Master's in finance and business administration from Universita Bocconi in Milan, Italy.

Source: UNFI