Safeway Chairman Magowan to Retire

Safeway Inc., the nation’s second-largest food and drug retailer, said its chairman of 18 years, Peter Magowan, will retire May 12. Magowan will step down at the annual stockholders meeting and will be succeeded by Steven Burd, president and chief executive, the company said. Magowan will remain on the board. Magowan, 55, has been with Safeway for 30 years and has been chairman since January 1980, when he also was named chief executive. He stepped down as CEO in 1993 after becoming president and managing partner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Recently he has spearheaded the Giants’ plan to build the first privately financed major league ballpark in more than 30 years. Safeway operates 1,368 stores in North America. Shares of the Pleasanton-based company rose 19 cents to close at $35.69 on the NYSE.