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Six months ago, Lowell Peters was proudly showing off revamped Safeway supermarkets as the company he founded emerged from bankruptcy reorganization with the help of investor Malone & Hyde Inc.
Last week, Peters reliquishied control of Safeway Foods Inc., as Malone & Hyde, a Memphis-based food wholesaler, brought in a new chairman from a Missouri-based grocery chain.
The new chairman and chief executive officer of Safeway and its sister company, Grace Foods Inc., is George T. Rowland. Rowland was operations manager for Food Giant Supermarkets, a 54 store chain based in Sikeston, Mo., that operates in five states.
Peters will retain his 46-percent share of Safeway and Grace and his seat on the companies' boards. On Oct. 29, he assumed the title of chairman of the executive committee, which consists of himself and Rowland. The committe will represent the board of directors' interests when the board is not meeting, said Peter R. Pettit, Malone & Hyde vice president.
Peters said in a press release that "the time is now right for the company to expand and bolster its management." Pettit explained that bringing in a new CEO was Peters' idea.
"Lowell Peters actually was instrumental in coming to us, indicating that he needed some help--and he did," Pettit said. "We had a board meeting and...