Food Lion, LLC said yesterday it has appointed company veterans Carol Herndon and Robert Canipe to the positions of c.f.o. and chief administrative officer, and s.v.p.-corporate development, respectively.

In her new role, Herndon will continue her senior leadership responsibility for all accounting and analysis, as well as information technology. In addition, she will now be accountable for corporate development, including real estate, store development, mergers and acquisitions, construction, maintenance, equipment procurement, and energy management.

Herndon began her career at the Salisbury, N.C.-based grocer in 1989, when she joined the company as a financial controller. She has served in a variety of other capacities at Food Lion, including corporate controller and most recently, v.p. of accounting and analysis and information technology. She also served as chief accounting officer for Delhaize America, Inc., Food Lion's parent company. Previously, Herndon was a manager with Ernst & Young in Winston-Salem, N.C. This month she was named a Top Woman in Grocery in Progressive Grocer's second such ranking of female food industry executives.

Robert Canipe will assume senior leadership responsibilities for real estate, construction, maintenance, store equipment procurement, and energy management as v.p. corporate development. He will also join Food Lion's executive committee.

Canipe joined Food Lion in 2001 as director of strategic and business analysis, and served as v.p. of business strategy and v.p. of dry category management. Previously, he worked for Procter & Gamble.

Food Lion operates about 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys, and Reid's banners. The company employs approximately 73,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.