Whole Foods CEO sorry for anonymous Web posts

By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. apologized to shareholders on Tuesday for anonymously posting comments about his company on the Internet as the organic and natural foods grocer said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a probe into the matter.

News of the SEC probe comes a week after court documents filed by the Federal Trade Commission revealed that Whole Foods Chief Executive John Mackey posted messages on a Yahoo! chat forum under an alias for years.

In the postings, Mackey talked up his company while predicting a bleak future for Wild Oats Markets Inc., the rival his firm is trying to acquire.

"I sincerely apologize to all Whole Foods Market stakeholders for my error in judgment in anonymously participating on online financial message boards," Mackey said in a statement on Tuesday. "I am very sorry and I ask our stakeholders to please forgive me."

Last week, Mackey had defended the postings, saying he "posted on Yahoo! under a pseudonym because I had fun doing it. Many people post on bulletin boards using pseudonyms."

Corporate governance expert Nell Minow of the Corporate Library said she did not expect him to remain CEO for long.

"The fact that somebody has twisted his arm into saying he's sorry just isn't enough," Minow said.

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