Steven Burd, chairman and chief executive officer of Safeway, came to the companyin 1992 as a retailing outsider with a gift for analytical thinking and tough-minded minded leadership, he transformed Safeway over the course of two decades into an industry game-changer.

His tenure as CEO has been among the longest of any in the supermarket business, and his success in turning the fortunes of the company helped to draw the attention of Wall Street and others to the significance of a strong private label program when it comes to retail performance and profit. From the mid-1990s onward, under his leadership, Safeway aggressively expanded its store brands program, introducing their own new products at a faster rate than branded ones – in the words of the Wall Street Journal – and even competing directly with top national brands with the launch of the “Safeway Select” premium brand. Through concentrated efforts the company has built an extensive private brands portfolio that includes pantry essentials, Safeway Farms, Safeway Kitchens, “O” organics, “Eating Right,” “Mom to Mom,” and specialty brands that range from restaurant quality meals to pet care to home décor.