Marla S. Randolph Chief Operating Officer, Army & Air Force Exchange Service

Marla S. Randolph is an Executive Vice President and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange), at the organization’s headquarters in Dallas.

The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense. Established in 1895, the Exchange is the 54th largest retail organization in the U.S. With annual revenues of $8.5 billion, the Exchange employs approximately 29,000 associates, including military personnel.

In the last 10 years, the Exchange benefit has provided $3.5 billion in earnings for critical military Quality-of-Life programs such as outfitting more than 600,000 Warfighters at cost annually, providing school meal support for Department of Defense Education Activity facilities overseas and delivering needed services to locations impacted by natural disasters.

Randolph’s position is commensurate in rank to a member of the Senior Executive Service. As COO, Randolph directs overall operation of the Exchange, supervising Regions, Services and Food, Store Operations, and staff elements that directly support all Exchange activities. She is also Executive Champion for Building Resources in Diversity Growth of Employees (BRIDGE), the Exchange African American Heritage Special Emphasis Program.

The Exchange operates more than 5,000 facilities, including department and convenience stores, restaurants, malls, movie theaters, gas stations and other specialty retail businesses on military installations. The Exchange’s operations span 50 states, four U.S. territories and more than 30 countries. Additionally, the Exchange Credit Program manages a $2.2 billion credit card receivables portfolio.

To support readiness and provide foreign-based service members and their families with U.S. products, the Exchange operates bakeries in Europe and Asia and water bottling plants in Europe under 10 brand licenses from U.S. consumer goods companies, including Wonder Bread, Krispy Kreme and Culligan.

The Exchange recruits, hires, promotes and retains a diverse and inclusive workforce. A major employer of Veterans and military spouses, the Exchange has hired more than 1,900 Wounded Warriors since 2010 and more than 57,000 Veterans and military spouses since 2013.

Randolph graduated with honors and earned two graduate degrees: a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Argosy University, Dallas. She also graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi. She holds professional certifications in Retail Management (National Retail Federation), Customer Service and Sales (National Retail Federation), and Food Service Management Professional.

Randolph began her Exchange management career as a college trainee in 1993 at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. There, she became the Sales Area Manager in 1994 and the Customer Support/Operations Manager in 1995. She was then promoted to store manager at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, in 1996, before taking on the same position at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2002 and at Fort Myer, Virginia, in 2004.

In 2006, Randolph transferred overseas to become Senior Region Retail Program Specialist for the Pacific Region in Okinawa, Japan. In 2008, she deployed to serve as general manager in Kuwait and Iraq. In 2009, she became general manager of the Grafenwoehr Exchange in Germany.

In November 2011, Randolph was promoted to Director, Customer Experience, and transferred to Exchange headquarters in Dallas. In this role, she planned, directed and executed short- and long-term strategies for the worldwide strategic Corporate Communication function. She also directed customer outreach, relationship marketing, media relations and related communications. In March 2013, she transferred to the Executive Group, where she became the Executive Administrator to the Chief Operating Officer.

In May 2014, Randolph was promoted to Vice President, Planning Division, Real Estate Directorate, where she analyzed sites, developed store location strategies and identified remodeling and/or expansion opportunities for Exchange facilities worldwide. In December 2014, she was named Vice President, Strategic Operations, where she led the development of strategies to improve operational processes and drive organizational growth.

Randolph was named Vice President, Pacific Overseas Region, which includes Okinawa, mainland Japan, Korea, Guam and Hawaii, in October 2015. In January 2018, she became Regional Vice President, East Central Region. She was promoted to Senior Vice President, Central Region, in April 2018. She was named Senior Vice President of the Europe/Africa/Southwest Asia Region in July 2020 and assumed her current position in March 2024.

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