Richard W. Dreiling, Chief Executive Officer
Richard W. "Rick" Dreiling joined Dollar General in January 2008 as CEO. Since 2005, Dreiling had been with Duane Reade Holdings Inc. as chairman and CEO. Duane Reade is the leading drug store chain in the New York City metropolitan area.
In 2003, prior to his tenure with Duane Reade, Dreiling served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Longs Drug Stores Corporation, a chain of retail drug stores on the West Coast and Hawaii. Before that, he was executive vice president of marketing, manufacturing and distribution of Safeway Inc. a food and drug retailer. Earlier still, he served as president of Vons, a southern California division of Safeway Inc.
Dreiling earned a bachelor's degree in industrial relations from Rockhurst University in Missouri. He began his career in 1969 as a part-time clerk with Safeway Inc. in Kansas, where he worked his way through the retail ranks before being promoted to president of Vons in 1998. Dreiling serves on the board of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the board of directors of Chain Drug Consortium, LLC. Dreiling was a finalist in Ernst & Young’s 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for the Metro New York area. In October 2007, Dreiling received the Jacob K. Javits Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his efforts to raise awareness for the ALS Association and to support its work to find a cure for the disease. He was also a recipient of the 2006 Human Rights Award, given by the Jewish Labor Committee, in recognition of his efforts to promote the shared social justice agenda between the AJC and the trade union movement; he was honored again in October 2006 as their "Person of the Year."
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David L. Beré, President and Chief Strategy Officer
David Beré is president and chief strategy officer of Dollar General. He joined the company in December 2006 after serving as a director since 2002.
Beré served from December 2003 until June 2005 as corporate vice president of Ralcorp Holdings Inc., and as the president and chief executive officer of Bakery Chef Inc. a leading manufacturer of frozen bakery products acquired by Ralcorp Holdings in December 2003. From 1998 until the acquisition, Beré was the president and chief executive officer of Bakery Chef Inc. and also served on its board of directors. From 1996 to 1998, Beré served as president and chief executive officer of McCain Foods USA, a manufacturer and marketer of frozen foods and a subsidiary of McCain Foods Limited. He spent 17 years at The Quaker Oats Company, where he served as president of the breakfast division and the golden grain division.
In 1983, he was appointed White House Fellow by President Ronald Reagan. Beré earned both his bachelor’s degree and Master of Business Administration from Indiana University.
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David M. Tehle, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Prior to joining Dollar General in June 2004, Tehle spent seven years with Haggar Corporation as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He has held leadership positions with several world leaders in manufacturing, including vice president of finance for The Stanley Works, Mechanics Tools Division, and vice president of finance and chief financial officer for Hat Brands Inc. Tehle gained 12 years of financial experience through management positions at Ryder System Inc. and through various financial and accounting positions at Texas Instruments Inc.
Tehle earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
He has served as a director of Jack in the Box Inc. since December 2004.
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Kathleen R. Guion, President of Store Operations and Store Development
At Dollar General, Guion oversees more than 8,000 stores in 35 states.
Before assuming her current role in April 2005, Guion served as executive vice president of store operations. Prior to joining Dollar General in October 2003, she served as president and chief executive officer of Duke and Long Distributing Company, a convenience store chain operator and wholesale distributor of petroleum products. Prior to that time, she was an operating partner for Devon Partners (1999 to 2000), where she developed operating plans and assisted in the identification of acquisition targets in the convenience store industry. Additionally, Guion served as president and chief operating officer of E-Z Serve Corporation (1997 to 1998), an owner/operator of convenience stores, mini-marts and gas marts. From 1987 to 1997, Guion served as the vice president and general manager of the largest division (Chesapeake division) of company-owned stores at 7-Eleven Inc., a convenience store chain. Other positions held by Guion during her tenure at 7-Eleven include district manager, zone manager, operations manager and division manager (Midwest division).
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Susan S. Lanigan, Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Lanigan joined Dollar General in July 2002 as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.
Previously, Lanigan was senior vice president and general counsel with Zale Corporation, a specialty retailer of fine jewelry. Her legal experience also includes positions with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and the law firm of Troutman Sanders.
Lanigan received her undergraduate and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia. Lanigan is a director on the board of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
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Anita Elliott, Senior Vice President and Controller
Anita Elliott joined Dollar General in August 2005. Prior to joining Dollar General, Elliott served as Vice President and Controller of Big Lots, Inc., a closeout retailer, from May 2001 to August 2005. Overseeing a staff of 140 employees at Big Lots, Elliott was responsible for accounting operations, financial reporting and internal audit. Prior to serving at Big Lots, she served as Vice President and Controller for Jitney-Jungle Stores of America, Inc., a grocery retailer, from April 1998 to March 2001. At Jitney-Jungle, Elliott was responsible for the accounting operations and the internal and external financial reporting functions. Prior to serving at Jitney-Jungle, she practiced public accounting for 12 years, 6 of which were with Ernst & Young LLP.
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Bob Ravener, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer
Bob Ravener is senior vice president and chief people officer at Dollar General, responsible for all human resources initiatives.
Before joining Dollar General in 2008, Ravener was most recently senior vice president of U.S. partner resources for Starbucks Coffee Company where he oversaw all aspects of human resources activity for more than 10,000 stores. He also served as vice president, partner resources-Eastern division. Prior to Starbucks, Ravener held vice president of human resources roles for The Home Depot Store Support Center and a domestic field division. Ravener also served in human resources executive roles at Footstar, Inc. and PepsiCo.
Ravener served in the U.S. Navy as a strategic weapons submarine officer. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and also earned an MBA in general management from New York University.
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Board Member Biographies
Michael M. Calbert
Mr. Calbert has been with KKR for eight years and during that time has been directly involved with several portfolio companies and participated in another four investments. He heads the Retail industry team. Mr. Calbert is currently on the board of directors of Toys “R” Us, Inc. and U.S. Foodservice. Mr. Calbert joined Randall’s Food Markets as the Chief Financial Officer in 1994, ultimately taking the company through a transaction with KKR in June 1997. He left Randall’s Food Markets after the company was sold in September 1999 and joined KKR. Mr. Calbert started his professional career as a consultant with Arthur Andersen Worldwide, where his primary focus was on the retail/consumer industry. He has been a member of our Board of Directors since July 2007. KKR is an affiliate of Dollar General.
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Raj K. Agrawal
Mr. Agrawal joined KKR in 2006 and is a member of the Retail and Energy industry teams. Prior to joining KKR, he was a Vice President with Warburg Pincus, where he was involved in the execution and oversight of a number of investments in the energy sector. Mr. Agrawal’s prior experience also includes Thayer Capital Partners, where he played a role in the firm’s business services investments, and McKinsey & Co., where he provided strategic and M&A advice to clients in a variety of industries. He has been a member of our Board of Directors since July 2007. KKR is an affiliate of Dollar General.
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Adrian Jones
Mr. Jones has been with Goldman, Sachs & Co. since 1994. He is a managing director in Principal Investment Area (PIA) in New York where he focuses on healthcare and consumer-related opportunities and sits on the Global Investment Committee. Mr. Jones joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an associate in the Investment Banking Division and, after two years in the Communications and Media Department and mobility assignments in Equity Capital Markets and in the Executive Office of Goldman Sachs International, he joined PIA in London in 1998. He returned to New York with PIA in 2002 and became a managing director later that year. He became a partner in 2004. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is an affiliate of Dollar General. Mr. Jones is currently on the board of directors of Biomet, Inc., Burger King Holdings, Inc., Education Management Corporation, HealthMarkets, Inc. and Signature Hospital, LLC. He has been a member of our Board of Directors since July 2007.
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Dean B. Nelson
Mr. Nelson has been the Chairman of the Board (since April 2003) and was previously President and Chief Executive Officer (since October 2005 – September 2007) of PRIMEDIA Inc., a targeted media company. He has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Capstone Consulting LLC, a strategic consulting firm, since 2000. From August 1985 to February 2000, Mr. Nelson was employed by Boston Consulting Group, Inc., a strategic consulting firm, where he served as a Senior Vice President from December 1998 to February 2000 and held various other positions from August 1985 to November 1998. Mr. Nelson is a member of the Board of Directors of Sealy Corporation and Toys “R” Us, Inc. He has been a member of our Board of Directors since July 2007.
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