People In Brief

Vitamin Shoppe promotes Markee to CEO: Less than two months after filing for an initial public offering, Vitamin Shoppe Industries appoints Chairman Richard Markee as CEO. Markee will assume full responsibility for the North Bergen, N.J.-based retailer's day-to-day operations, including its retail and direct businesses, which brought in $601.5 million in fiscal 2008 net sales. Markee is an experienced executive, previously serving as interim CEO at Toys "R" Us, and is familiar with Vitamin Shoppe's operations. He served as non-executive chairman for the company since April 2007 and as a board member since 2006. He replaces Thomas Tolworthy, who will continue as VP of corporate strategy and business development. Vitamin Shoppe's parent firm, VS Holdings, requested clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO in July and plans to use the ticker symbol VSI (1"The Tan Sheet" July 27, 2009)