Richard “Rick” A. Anicetti, corporate leader and champion of business and community partnerships in North Carolina will deliver the Livingstone College commencement address Saturday at 10 a.m. in Alumni Stadium on the campus.
Anicetti, president and chief executive officer of Food Lion, LLC, joined the company as chief operating officer in August 2000, after 20 years of service at the company’s sister banner, Hannaford Bros. Co.
He assumed the position of president in 2001 and was promoted to chief executive officer in 2002.
Anicetti oversees the retail operations of more than 1,200 Food Lion stores and six distribution centers in 11 states. These include the Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid’s supermarket chains. He directs strategy and ensures execution of merchandising and marketing programs and supervises transportation, distribution and retail operations.
In addition, he oversees quality assurance, profitability and customer satisfaction at Food Lion stores.
Anicetti began his food industry career at Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford Bros., where he earned a spot in the company’s retail management training program in 1980.
He then managed a store in Burlington, Vt. Later, Anicetti served as associate buyer, buyer and grocery sales manager. He was promoted to director of retail human resources in 1986 and, in 1987, became director of retail operations/Northern Division. He became Northern regional vice president in 1989, vice president of retail operations/Northern Division in 1990, and vice president/general manager of retail operations for southern Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1992.
Anicetti was named executive vice president of Southeast operations in June 1994 and spearheaded Hannaford’s expansion into the Southeast.
A native of Oakland, Maine, Anicetti graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
He serves as a member of the board of directors of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, Easter Seals-UCP of North Carolina, the North Carolina Chamber (formerly North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry), the CIES US Advisory Council, president of the Carolinas Food Industry Council and is a member of Duke Children’s Hospital National Advisory Board. He also serves as chairman elect of the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, is past president of the North Carolina Food Dealers Association, serves on the board of trustees of Bennett College, and as vice chairman of the Executive Committee of the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity and Inclusion Institute at Bennett College.