Pfister named director of Central Area
FORT LEE, Va. – Michael M. Pfister, former chief of promotions in the Defense Commissary Agency’s Sales Directorate, has been named director of the agency’s Central Area effective March 26.
He fills a position left vacant in November 2022 after Robert J. Bunch was named executive director of the Store Operations Group.
“Throughout his DeCA career, Mike has left his stamp on much of what we do in supporting the stores, leading the way in working impactful sales promotions, and implementing strategic and operational planning,” Bunch said. “I’m confident his ability to manage in virtually every area of commissary management will translate to success, as he leads his stores in delivering the best commissary benefit possible to our patrons in the Central Area.”
The Central Area encompasses 58 commissaries divided into six zones in 17 states spanning from Wisconsin and Michigan in the North; Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas in Midwest; and Florida and Louisiana in the South. The stores in the area achieved annual sales of nearly $1 billion in FY 2022.
Prior to being selected Central Area director, Pfister had served since 2021 as chief of the promotions division for DeCA’s Sales Directorate, where he managed tactical sales and marketing store support for the agency’s 236 commissaries configured under five area offices, 26 field zones in 46 states, 13 countries and two U.S. territories.
While chief of promotions, he led the division through a series of transformational initiatives that included establishing a known value item (KVI) program, program management of the scholarship program, changed the promotions decision to data-driven and launched the first “Buy One, Get One Free” (BOGO) program.
From 2018 to 2021, Pfister served as chief of the perishable division for the Store Operations Group, where he provided tactical and strategic leadership in support of all perishable operational requirements for all commissaries. He managed the centralized program that provided standard meat processing and consistent pricing for all stateside stores.
As chief of the perishables division, Pfister also developed and implemented DeCA’s popular Power Meat Box, Combo Pack and Sub Primal programs. In a collaborative effort with the Sales Directorate, he also launched the agency’s first ever zone-level produce training for multiple stores.
As a lead commissary management specialist from 2013 to 2018, he provided strategic planning, operational development and execution oversight for Store Operations. In this role, he also served as the program manager for all new store grand openings worldwide.
Pfister also led a multi-functional coalition that successfully developed all business plans on the execution and expansion of DeCA’s Push Promotion Program to all stateside commissaries. Through push promotions, stores expand the visibility of products to better influence the customers’ purchasing decision. This program helped the agency improve its overall patron savings posture and incremental sales by $202 million in savings and 90.4 million in sales in FY 2014, and $353 million in savings and $167 million in sales in FY 2015, and $384 million in savings in FY 2016.
Pfister began his civil service career with DeCA in 2001, where he proceeded to advance in responsibility through various levels of commissary management.
-DeCA-
About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.