New England supermarket chain the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) has announced that David Smithies has been appointed president of the company’s Atlantic region.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more


Reporting to Elizabeth R. Culligan, president & COO, he succeeds Craig Sturken, who left the company to pursue other opportunities.


Smithies joined A&P in 1986, and has served in a number of operations management positions, eventually heading the company’s Waldbaum’s group, and in his most recent promotion, the Atlantic region’s northeast operations group.


Commenting on the appointment, Culligan said, “Dave’s leadership has been a major factor in the ongoing improvement of our store operations and customer service performance in the Northeast. I look forward to working with him as he assumes operating responsibility for A&P’s largest operating region.”


A&P’s Atlantic Region, based in Paterson, NJ, operates more than 400 supermarkets, including the A&P, Waldbaum’s and The Food Emporium stores in the New York Metropolitan area; the A&P and Super Foodmart stores in New England, and the Super Fresh stores in the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact