Robert Anthony "Bob" Mariano (born March 1950; pronounced ) is an American businessman, formerly

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and chairman of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

-based supermarket chain

Roundy's Roundy's Supermarkets (also known as Roundy's) is an American supermarket operator. It owns and operates stores under the names of Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, and Mariano's Fresh Market. The chain is a subsidiary of Kroger. Roundy's operates ...

Early life

Robert Anthony Mariano was born in March 1950 in

Jefferson Park, Chicago Jefferson Park is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, located on the Northwest Side of the city. The neighborhood of Jefferson Park occupies a larger swath of territory. Jefferson Park is bordered by the community areas of Norwood Park ...

, Illinois to Dorothy and Robert John Mariano. After a short time in Chicago they moved to nearby Arlington Heights, where he grew up as the oldest of his two brothers and two sisters.

Education and early career

He went to high school at

Loyola Academy Loyola Academy is a private, Catholic, co-educational college preparatory high school run by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago ...

and in 1967 he began working as a part-time deli clerk at a

Dominick's Dominick's was a Chicago-area grocery store chain and subsidiary of Safeway Inc. Dominick's distribution center was located in Northlake, Illinois, while its management offices were located in Oak Brook, Illinois. History Founding Dominick DiMa ...

supermarket. He initially wanted to go into

pre-med Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

, but after applying unsuccessfully to five medical schools, he switched to the pharmaceutical industry. He was rejected by thirteen different companies, one of which said he looked too young. He was eventually hired as a salesman for

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois. History Early years German immigr ...

, a company for which his father, a butcher, had also worked. After working there for a year and a half, he was hired in 1973 as an assistant manager for a Dominick's in

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

. He became close friends with Dominick's owner Dominick DiMatteo. Mariano earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

, and his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He rose steadily through the ranks of Dominick's becoming president and then CEO in 1996. Two years later,

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

bought Dominick's, causing Mariano and many other executives to leave the company.

Roundy's

After several years as a consultant, in 2002 he was named CEO of

, headquartered in

. In 2010, the first Mariano's Fresh Market opened in Arlington Heights. In late December 2013, Dominick's announced that it planned to close all 72 of its Chicago area stores, and eleven of them were purchased to be converted into Mariano's. The largest Mariano's opened in June 2015 in Northbrook, at . On November 11, 2015, Ohio-based retailer

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...

announced that it was buying Roundy's for $800 million, having received approval from the boards of both companies. , the chain operates over 150 supermarkets and over 100 pharmacies in Wisconsin and under the names of Pick 'n Save, Copps, and Metro Market. Mariano has additionally opened 34 of his namesake stores in the Chicago area. They plan to open 39 by the end of 2016, but their eventual goal is a total of 50 Mariano's. Mariano announced on July 12, 2016 that he would retire as Roundy's CEO on September 1, although he will remain as a strategic adviser for two years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariano, Bob 1950 births Living people Businesspeople from Milwaukee University of Chicago alumni Businesspeople from Chicago American chief executives of food industry companies