Albertson’s has high hopes that its newly appointed CEO, Lawrence R. Johnston, can come up with a plan to bring American stores into line and save Albertson’s place in the food and drug industry. Johnston, a former General Electric executive, has no experience in the retail grocery business. He began his career at GE in 1972 as a sales trainee. He told a Wall Street Journal reporter that he left because he has burning desire to run his own company.