James Wood, former A&P CEO, dies at 85
James Wood, former A&P CEO, dies at 85
James Wood, the former chief executive officer credited with the turnaround of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., died Thursday, March 26 after a long illness. He was 85.
Mr. Wood was born in 1930 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, which is where he began a storied career in food retailing. From 1965 to 1980, he was a senior executive at Cavenham Foods and the CEO of Cavenham’s international retail operations.
In 1973, Cavenham acquired Grand Union and Mr. Wood was tapped by Sir James Goldsmith, Cavenham’s chairman, to lead the U.S. supermarket chain.
In 1980, Mr. Wood became the chairman and CEO of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., where he led a turnaround of the troubled retailer. That turnaround was lauded by analysts as an outstanding success, and in 1989 Wood was named the outstanding CEO of the decade in food retailing by Financial World magazine.
Mr. Wood was a director of Schering-Plough Corp., Asarco Inc. and Datawatch Corp. He also served as a director of the USO and UNICEF and was chairman of UNICEF’s North American Corporate Alliance of CEOs.
Mr. Wood was described as a passionate and energetic leader, a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Colleen Wood; two daughters, Julie Howard and Sarah Cox; and four grandchildren, Elizabeth Howard, James Howard, Maxwell Cox and Victoria Cox.
The family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made payable to The Pearl Barlow Center, ATTN: Dr. James Galvin, 145 E. 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016, MEMO: In Memory of James Wood. Donations that are made in Mr. Wood's memory will be used to add additional services to the center for its patients.
