Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) announced that Kelly Kauffman will join the company as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective July 20, 2026. Kauffman succeeds Gary Koch, who is retiring at the end of the year after a distinguished career.
About Kelly Kauffman
Kauffman, the new CFO, brings a comprehensive career in financial leadership spanning retail, financial services, and consumer goods, with deep expertise in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), corporate transformation initiatives, and operational finance.
Most recently, Kauffman served as Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis at BJ’s Wholesale Club, where he led corporate FP&A teams across multiple financial disciplines and modernized forecasting and reporting through the implementation of new planning systems. These efforts streamlined planning activities and enabled faster, more informed decision-making across the organization.
Previously, Kauffman was Vice President of Finance at Whole Foods Market, where he led global FP&A functions, managed annual and long-term financial planning, and spearheaded major continuous improvement and operational excellence activities. He played a key role in developing the financial modeling that supported the company’s sale to Amazon and provided executive oversight for large-scale financial system transformations, including Workday, Anaplan, and Adaptive Insights, while building strong, cross-functional finance and operations teams.
Earlier in his career, Kauffman, the AWG’s new CFO, held progressive corporate finance and audit roles at EZCORP, Inc., Pamida, Cabela’s, Inc., Nestlé USA, and Grant Thornton, LLP. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
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“Kelly is a proven finance leader with a strong track record of driving performance, improving processes, and building high-performing teams,” said Dan Funk, President and CEO of AWG. “His experience in retail, coupled with his ability to lead transformation and strengthen financial operations, makes him an excellent fit for AWG as we continue to grow and support our members. We’re excited to welcome him to the team.”
Funk added, “We are also incredibly grateful for Gary Koch’s (previous CFO) outstanding leadership and contributions to AWG over the past 30 years. His impact on our organization has been significant, and we look forward to celebrating his career as he prepares for retirement.”
ABOUT AWG
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets, serving 1,100 member companies and 3,500 locations throughout 33 states from 9 wholesale division support centers. Consolidated sales for AWG in 2025 were $12.2 billion. In addition to its cooperative wholesale operations, the company also operates subsidiary companies that provide certain real estate and supermarket development services, and pharmaceutical products.