Craig Herkert, president and CEO of Supervalu, Inc., has joined the board of directors of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI).

“Craig’s involvement with FMI will help all our businesses thrive, thanks to his facility in leading change and his tremendous energy,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of the Arlington, Va.-based trade group.

Herkert joined Supervalu earlier this year, prior to which time he was president and CEO of Wal-Mart Americas. Before joining Wal-Mart, Herkert spent 23 years with American Stores and Albertsons, where he held such positions as EVP of marketing for Albertsons and president of the Philadelphia-based Acme Markets division.

Having begun his food-retailing career as a teenager at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Herkert holds an MBA from Northern Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. Francis College in Joliet, Ill.

As one of the largest companies in the U.S. grocery channel, with approximately 2,500 grocery locations, including 900 in-store pharmacies, Minneapolis-based Supervalu also provides distribution and related logistics support services to more than 2,500 independent retailers across the country.