Albertsons has sharply increased the size of its board of directors, a move experts say signals both a need for new expertise and potential uncertainty about the company’s direction.
The grocery chain added five new directors in recent weeks, including an executive chair. This brings the total number of board members to 15, a size that is uncommon and raises questions about the sudden expansion.
The company has been facing challenges, including weak sales and poor share price performance. These issues add to the intrigue surrounding the board changes, according to corporate governance specialists.
“Having such a large board is essentially waving their hands up and down on Wall Street saying, ‘We’re not doing very well. We don’t have a strategic direction right now.’ It’s a really bad sign,” said David Halliday, an associate teaching professor at the George Washington University School of Business.
A Board Above Average
Albertsons’ board now has more members than the typical company. The average for firms in the Russell 3000 index is between eight and twelve directors. Data from the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance shows only about 6% of those companies had more than twelve directors in 2025.
Adding multiple new directors is a significant change for Albertsons’ governance structure, said Jason Schloetzer, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He suggested the current board had gaps in skill rather than being underperforming.
New Directors and New Directions
The new board members include executives from outside the grocery industry. Albertsons named Meg Ham, former president of Ahold Delhaize USA’s Food Lion banner, as a director. The company also brought on leaders from hardware chain Lowe’s Companies and data center firm Aligned Data Centers.
Earlier in October, Albertsons appointed Harmit Singh, chief financial and growth officer of Levi Strauss & Co., to the board. The most significant addition was Meg Whitman, a former CEO of HP and eBay, who was named the company’s first executive chair.
Whitman’s appointment as executive chair gives her broad influence over the grocer’s operations and top management. Her background as a high-profile technology specialist marks a notable shift for the company.
