Safeway CEO to speak on health-care initiatives
Steven A. Burd, who leads one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, will talk about leadership and his work on health care when he visits the Schools of Business on Wednesday, Jan. 13.
Burd, chairman and CEO of Safeway Inc., will speak from 2:45 to 4 p.m. in the Worrell Professional Center, Room 1312. The event is free and open to the public.
Safeway, a Fortune 500 company based in California, operates 1,739 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Since Burd came to Safeway in 1992, he has led a turnaround that has produced industry-leading sales and cost savings, while building a reputation for superior customer service. The company also has more than 1,300 in-store pharmacies.
Burd is considered a leader in advancing sound public policy on issues affecting the retail industry. In 2007 he created the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform, an alliance of more than 60 companies advocating state and federal health-care reform.
He has led Safeway in reversing the trend of rising health-care costs by implementing a plan that pays 100 percent of preventive care, rewards good behavior, and allows employees to take more control of their health care choices. Safeway is also a leader in supporting research for prostate and breast cancer.
Over the past decade, Safeway has raised and donated more than $1 billion to support education, health and wellness, community food banks, and cancer research and prevention. Safeway has been ranked by Fortune magazine as one of the “most admired” companies in the food and drug sector and was named the top retailer by leading industry publications Supermarket News and Progressive Grocer.
