PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Mario Maffie has been appointed as United Natural Foods new chief information officer. Mr. Maffie will lead the company’s information technology team.

In his role, Mr. Maffie will oversee critical network systems integration work, and help accelerate the use of data and insights to aid the company’s customers and suppliers.

Before joining UNFI, Mr. Maffie was at Mars Inc. for more than 24 years and most recently was Mars’ corporate chief information officer since 2018.

“Over the past 20 plus years, Mario has been at the forefront of helping Mars harness the power of data, analytics, and automation, ensuring that Mars continually evolved its technology through new platforms and modern capabilities, including AI-based programs, and digital transformation initiatives,” said Erin Horvath, chief operating officer at UNFI.