US food wholesaler Smart & Final has named company president and chief operating officer Etienne Snollaerts as its chief executive officer.


Snollaerts succeeds Ross E. Roeder, who remains chairman of the board.


In addition, Smart & Final announced at its annual meeting the appointment of Stephen E. Watson to its board of directors and its audit committee. Watson, 59, was president and chief executive officer of outdoor equipment retailer Gander Mountain from 1997 to 2002, when he retired.


Also at the Smart & Final annual meeting, four members of the board of directors were re-elected and the company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws were amended and restated to provide for the annual election of all directors beginning in 2005.