Dollar Tree CEO retires; successor named

Chesapeake-based Fortune 200 discount retail giant Dollar Tree Stores Inc. announced Monday that CEO Gary Philbin has retired, but will remain an executive and member of the company’s board of directors through Sept. 23. Dollar Tree Enterprise President Michael A. Witynski has been promoted to president and CEO.

“The board and I are grateful to Gary Philbin for his steadfast commitment and tireless efforts over nearly two decades to help make Dollar Tree the company it is today,” Executive Chairman Bob Sasser said in a statement. “Gary’s leadership as CEO brought our banners together as one company in Chesapeake. On behalf of the board, his colleagues and our associates, we thank Gary and wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Philbin joined Dollar Tree in 2001 as senior vice president of stores, and became president and CEO of Dollar Tree Inc. in 2017. During his time with the company, he has overseen the development of private brands, customer research, marketing and operations.

He was also heavily involved with merging operations between Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, which Dollar Tree acquired in 2015 for $8.5 billion. Dollar Tree operates more than 15,000 stores across 48 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces. Stores operate under the brand names of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada. The company reported more than $22 billion in revenue last year.

Witynski joined the company in 2010 as senior vice president of stores, and became president and chief operating officer of Dollar Tree Stores in 2017. He was promoted last year to his current position, where he has led merchandising, store operations and supply chain functions for the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar brands.

“Under Mike’s leadership, we have driven outstanding performance — first at Dollar Tree and most recently at Family Dollar,” Sasser said in a statement. “He helped put in place a broad range of operational and talent initiatives to position our company for an even more successful future, as witnessed by the recent successes at Family Dollar.”

Before his time with the company, he held senior leadership positions in merchandising, marketing, private brands and operations for the grocery industry.

“I am honored to take on this new role and excited about Dollar Tree’s opportunities to drive even more value for our customers and shareholders,” Witynski said in a statement. “We have great momentum; our sales and margins are encouraging; our work to improve the customer experience is driving traffic; and we are now capturing more of the benefits inherent in bringing the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar management teams together under one roof.”

Subscribe to Virginia Business.

Get our daily e-newsletter.