Safeway Names Chief Information Officer

Safeway Inc. has named Barry Libenson SVP and chief information officer (CIO), effective July 1. He succeeds David Ching, who retired from the role earlier this year after 19 years with the company.

As CIO, Libenson will oversee Safeway's extensive information technology business functions, reporting directly to Safeway EVP Larree Renda.

Libenson comes to Safeway from Land O' Lakes, Inc., where he served since 2010 as SVP and CIO. During his tenure with Land O' Lakes, Libenson and his team transformed the technology group to ensure that IT was fully aligned and executing against that company's long-term strategic direction.

Prior to that, he was VP and CIO at Ingersoll Rand, Co. Ltd., with responsibility for defining and implementing that company's global electronic and internet business strategies. Libenson joined Ingersoll-Rand as VP of e-Business in 2001. Prior to his tenure at Ingersoll-Rand, he served as an EVP at Surety.com, a data-integrity services company, and CEO for Visix Software, a software publisher. He also held management positions with Phoenix Technologies and Oracle Corporation.

"We are pleased to have someone with Barry's credentials join our executive team as we look to further ensure our IT organization is aligned with our key business strategies," said Renda. "His track record managing a complex set of technology functions across a diverse group of companies will be of significant value to the organization."

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway operates 1,638 stores in the United States and western Canada.