Safeway taps JPMorgan executive as CFO

(Reuters) - Safeway Inc , the second-largest U.S. supermarket chain, said Peter Bocian will replace Robert Edwards as its chief financial officer, effective February 19.

The company in April promoted Edwards, who had been the CFO since 2004, to the post of president and said he would continue in the finance chief's role until his successor is named.

Bocian joins Safeway from JP Morgan Chase & Co , where he was executive vice-president and head of corporate services and finance.

Bocian, who also served in the U.S. Navy, has worked at Hewlett-Packard Co as chief administrative officer and at Starbucks Corp as CFO.

Safeway, which is struggling with volume declines, said last month that its long-time chairman and chief executive, Steve Burd, will retire in May.

The company, the operator of supermarkets such as Safeway, Vons and Dominick's, has been facing stiff competition at a time when it is making attempts such as launching a shopper loyalty program to attract customers to reverse volume declines due to a tepid economic recovery.

Shares of the company closed at $19.23 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

(Reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)