LANSING — Third-term state Rep. Jim Lilly, who chairs the House Rules and Competitiveness Committee, will resign from office on July 1 to lead government affairs for SpartanNash Co., a Byron Center-based food distributor, wholesaler and retailer.
Lilly, 40, is the first lawmaker to leave before his term ends up for a private-sector job in more than a decade.
Lilly, of Ottawa County’s Park Township, will become SpartanNash’s vice president of government affairs — a newly created position. He will focus on issues at the federal level, he said.
“This is a great opportunity to help move this entire country forward on issues related to labor shortages and supply chain challenges,” he said in a statement. “I have always been passionate about solving problems faced by families and local businesses in our community, and that’s why I know this is the right time to make the transition to work on these issues in the private sector.”
SpartanNash (NASDAQ: SPTN) employs 17,500 people and owns 148 supermarkets in 10 states, primarily under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets and D&W Fresh Market. The company also distributes produce and its Our Family products to locations in all 50 states.
SpartanNash shareholders recently rejected a push by an investor group to revamp the board. Activist investors Macellum Advisors and Ancora Holdings Group, which had been pushing for strategic changes including a sale, sought to replace three directors on the board of the Amazon.com Inc.-linked food distributor as well as SpartanNash Chairman Douglas Hacker.
Lilly — who is departing six months early — could not seek re-election to the House because of term limits, though is eligible to serve eight years in the Senate. Before running for office, he was vice president and commercial banking team leader at Macatawa Bank.
