Walmart, Unilever Execs Join GS1 US Board

Cameron Geiger of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kees Kruythoff of Unilever North America have joined the board of governors of GS1 US, which develops supply-chain standards, solutions and services for more than 200,000 businesses in 25 industries.

Geiger, Walmart’s VP of merchandise replenishment, has spent 10 years with the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer and has served on the senior leadership teams of four operating divisions in three countries. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and seven-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Geiger was honored as the Sam Walton Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008 for progress in sustainability.

“Walmart has been on the leading edge of using standards and technology to enhance supply chain efficiency, including the use of the GS1 Electronic Product Code to ensure we can offer our customers the best possible selection and price in our stores,” said Geiger. “I’m both humbled and proud to join this group of professionals, and I look forward to contributing to strategies that lead to further adoption of GS1 Standards across industry.”

Kruythoff is president of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Unilever North America, a division of one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods, with products that are used over 2 billion times a day around the world. Having previously served as CEO for Unilever Brazil, Kruythoff was nominated as one of the country’s top 10 sustainability leaders. He has also served as CEO of Unilever Foods in South Africa and SVP/beverages in Unilever’s Northeast Asia region.

“Unilever has always strived to improve the quality of people’s lives,” said Kruythoff. “GS1 Standards help us make this possible, and I’m thrilled to work with other industry leaders who share our commitment to improving how we do business to better serve our customers.”

In welcoming the new executives, Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of the Lawrenceville, N.J.-based GS1 US, said: “Cameron and Kees bring a wealth of experience, both domestically and globally, in the retail and consumer goods sectors. The board will certainly benefit from their knowledge as we continue to create and improve supply-chain solutions through the adoption and usage of GS1 standards.”

The GS1 US board of governors includes executives from leading corporations such as Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, The Kroger Co., Procter & Gamble, Publix Super Markets, The J.M. Smucker Co., Wakefern Food Corp. and Wegmans Food Markets, among others.