Dollar's New General

Dollar General Corp. (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) announced the appointment of David A. Perdue Jr. as ceo and member of the board of directors. Perdue, most recently chairman and ceo of Pillowtex Corp. (Kannapolis, M.C.), had formerly been executive vp of Reebok International Inc. (Canton, Mass.) and president and ceo of Reebok Brand.

Current Dollar General chairman Cal Turner announced he will not seek re-election to the board of directors at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in June and that Perdue will assume the chairmanship at that time. Turner will continue to serve as a consultant to Perdue and as an advisor to the board.

“I place my full support and confidence in the board and our company under David's leadership,” Turner said, “and I look forward to assisting with the transition. The search committee and the entire board were impressed with David's diverse background. He understands strategic planning, finance, sourcing, retail, supply-side logistics, distribution and brand building. He has been successful with some of the most well-known consumer brands in America — Reebok, Sara Lee and Haggar.”

Prior to joining Pillowtex (home textiles manufacturer of Fieldcrest, Cannon, Charisma and Royal Velvet brand towels and linens) in July 2002, Perdue was executive vp of athletic wear company Reebok International and president and ceo of Reebok Brand. Perdue first joined Reebok in 1998 as senior vp of global operations. He was involved in all aspects of the Reebok brand, including marketing, product development, sales, manufacturing, sourcing, supply chain and operations.

His career has spanned 26 years in the consumer products and financial services industries, beginning with management consultant Kurt Salmon Associates (Atlanta). He joined Sara Lee Corp. (Chicago) in 1992 as senior vp and managing director of Asia operations. In 1994, he moved to men's apparel manufacturer Haggar Corp. (Dallas) as senior vp of operations.