Introducing the 2023 Class of GenNext’ers

Luke Beatty

SVP Digital Commerce, Acosta Group

Age: 36

In less than two years with Acosta Group, Beatty has led the digital commercial business unit to become the fastest-growing segment in the company and tripled the size of his team. He played an important role in supporting the integration of four new businesses at Acosta and oversaw the training and certification of more than 1,500 retail sales associates. Not afraid of change, Beatty recommended shuttering the strategic advisors business unit and refocusing efforts on high-demand services like digital commerce revenue growth management and category leadership. Many associates followed, helping to build the next chapter of Acosta Group. 

Caroline Radic

Manager Labor Planning,  ADUSA Distribution LLC

Age: 32

Managing the entire distribution and transportation workforce at ADUSA Distribution, Radic deployed new tools and processes to enhance reporting capabilities and reduce turnover by 15%. Through a new productivity tool and other initiatives, she helped the company save more than $5 million compared with the previous year. Radic continues to identify prospective focal areas regarding the standardization of daily labor balancing. Passionate about women’s development, she chairs programming and events for the women’s business resource group and was instrumental in planning a 2023 International Women’s Day panel. Radic is described as determined, empathetic and successful in dealing with ambiguity. 

Wesley Yang

Competitive Intelligence Analyst, Ahold Delhaize USA

Age: 32

The words are in his title: Yang demonstrates intelligence and positive competitiveness in his role, in which capacity he improved the department’s technology capabilities and streamlined processes through a more proactive data warehouse. He also developed a new dashboard for executive-level insights and standardized competitive intelligence reporting across all Ahold Delhaize USA (ADUSA) brands to include real-time access. A problem solver who won’t stop until he has a workable solution, Yang has also proved to be a key partner with ADUSA brands. Patience is another virtue for this analyst, who is also seen by peers and superiors as visionary and innovative.

Melissa Kral

Senior Manager, Sustainability, Albertsons Cos.

Age: 31

Kral played an important role in launching Recipe for Change, Albertsons’ strategic environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework. Among other accomplishments, she led workstreams to elevate the company’s approach to external reporting — including the expansion of the annual sustainability report from a single-page flyer to a more-than-50-page document — and developed ways to engage both employees and customers in the grocer’s ESG journey. Her nominators note that her programs have resulted in millions of organic customer engagements and the creation of new opportunities across store departments and categories. As the team expanded, she took on even more responsibilities, too, applying her systems-thinking approach and powerful insight.

Josh Button

Director, Retail Technology Services and Programs, Associated Grocers of New England (AGNE)

Age: 37

Button made his mark early as a programmer in AGNE’s IT department when a customer personally called the CEO to point out his strong customer-facing skills. Since then, he has continued to impress, launching the retail technology department, implementing the inaugural First Data Contract and supporting 600 retailers with their various tech needs. Button is now one of the youngest directors in the company’s history and also serves on its retailer advisory council. He is passionate about supporting independent grocers and received an award for integrity from an AGNE business partner at the National Grocers Association conference. 

Evan Green

Key Holder, Associate Grocers Supermarkets Vermont

Age: 23

One of the youngest GenNext winners, Green is hardly green in his approach and experience. He joined the company as a teenager and proved invaluable during the pandemic at a store in Jericho. Within the customer service function, Green is viewed as a leader and recently introduced a store director training program, creating a base training model broken down by department, with goals and timelines. That model has been put into action as he meets with senior leadership to provide updates on his progress. Described as dynamic and perceptive, Green regularly applies his skills to facilitate the success of the overall business.
 

Jackie LaPointe

Commercial Sales Director, West, Blue Cloud Distribution

Age: 31

LaPointe is a sales leader with a track record of exceeding quotas and being a top 1% performer. Her devotion to the industry is reflected in a grocery video series she launched for her previous company, Upside, called “Quick 5 with Upside” and featuring short interviews with female industry executives. LaPointe is a committee chair with the nonprofit Illuminators group and an active member of Women Grocers of America. In April 2023, she co-hosted the group’s Spring Executive Female Leaders Network conference. “Striving for greatness” is the term that most aptly defines her as a professional who loves a good challenge. 

Reggie Carmon

Category Manager-Bakery, Brookshire Grocery Co.

Age: 38

Carmon actually does take the cake when it comes to category management in the bakery department. During his two-year tenure in that area, the department experienced a lift across many fronts. Cakes and cupcakes have been redesigned to compete with local bakeries and competitors, while financial results have improved through his emphasis on controlling displays and actively listening and engaging with partners across the company. Carmon has completed the Future Leaders eXperiene program with FMI, which helped him coach employees and foster strong relationships. He’s credited with encouraging creativity and constantly learning more about consumer needs and industry dynamics. 

Allison Hull

Multimedia Communications Manager, Brookshire Grocery Co. (BCG)

Age: 27

Hull started her career at BCG as an intern and went on to lead several key projects in the communications department, such as the rollout of an internal employee app and an external hiring website. For her efforts, she was recently promoted to a manager role. Hull’s mantra of always wanting to do more was exemplified in her work on a cross-functional team tasked with integrating Reasor’s stores into the company’s systems; she became a leader on that team and worked countless hours to ensure that communications were accurate and current. Quick to share knowledge, Hull is also appreciative of mentorship.

Benjamin Deyo

Senior Manager, Procurement, C&S Wholesale Grocers

Age: 32

Managing a procurement decision science team and a national demand-planning department, Deyo serves chain and independent operators around the country. He proved especially valuable during the pandemic — a time that required a reimagined approach to demand planning — by collaborating with multiple departments and developing tools for greater efficiencies. Several process improvements have been made under his watch, and he continues to positively change the status quo through efforts like a multiyear system integration and ongoing development of talent at all levels. Deyo is known for helping and listening while also holding his team and peers accountable for meeting expectations. 

Katie Murphy

Senior Manager, Business Continuity, C&S Wholesale Grocers

Age: 38

In a pivotal role, Murphy shines. She has led responses to 21 business disruption events ranging from hurricanes to volcanic eruptions, minimizing company impacts and continuing to serve customers. As the company has evolved, so has Murphy, who adapts the business continuity program to meet different needs while simultaneously minimizing costs. Her sphere of influence encompasses her strong relationships with company leaders and food safety experts; as a food resilience advocate, she presented at a FEMA session to officials in top urban areas and spoke at the National Homeland Security Conference. Additionally, Murphy pays it forward by mentoring interns.

Stacey Hartnett

VP, Marketing and E-Commerce, Chomps

Age: 34

After joining Chomps two years ago as a digital media buyer, Hartnett was promoted to her current position overseeing brand and consumer development innovation strategy and revenue growth in e-commerce. She helped drive a whopping 291% increase in e-commerce sales from 2019 to 2021 and generated 787 million media impressions this year alone. Hartnett doesn’t shy away from tough decisions, whether temporarily pausing direct-to-consumer sales, guiding the company through inventory challenges or pursuing new avenues for brand growth. Her nominators laud her calm, cool and collected leadership style and genuine love of e-comm and the CPG world.

Hannah Stefenoni

On-Farm Sustainability and Producer Relations, Clover Sonoma

Age: 33

Stefenoni’s journey in environmental stewardship began on her family’s dairy farm in California. She was inspired to be a changemaker when dairy producers — including her own family — had to cease operations. At the legacy dairy brand Clover Sonoma, she’s a leading advocate for the company’s sustainability efforts, helping to minimize impacts on the environment while maximizing positive outcomes for farmers. Stefenoni used lessons that she learned as a doctoral candidate to feed red seaweed to cows, thereby lowering methane emissions, and to foster regenerative agricultural practices. She’s also a key liaison with the company’s network of 30 family-owned dairy partners. 

Ben Kuethe

VP of Customer Solutions and Success, Divert 

Age: 32

A champion in the fight to reduce food waste, Kuethe has cultivated strong relationships between Divert and large retailers such as Kroger, Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons and Target. Under his leadership, Divert’s retail customer base grew from 600 retail stores to nearly 5,400 nationwide. He leads from within the organization, too, as part of the team that built the first food waste anaerobic digestion facility in New England, and as the facilitator of food donations totaling more than 11.5 million pounds to people in need. Among his other leadership characteristics, Kuethe is known for breaking down complex problems using a pragmatic yet innovative approach. 

Matthew Elthon

Category Director, Dairy, Fareway Stores Inc.

Age: 35

A hands-on team player, Elthon develops cross-promotions and market recommendations to boost category sales growth. He has established pricing, sourcing and merchandising standards for a variety of items, and leverages data to make product mix improvements. Using his experience in different roles at Fareway, he deftly balances challenges from both corporate and store teams. Colleagues refer to him as a selfless leadership guru, as evidenced by his volunteerism with the local school board and Rotary International, as well as by his in-store dedication; last year, he filled in for a team member during the holidays and worked tirelessly to maintain operations during an ensuing blizzard.

Julia Peirce

Senior Food Scientist, Farmer Focus

Age: 28

At Farmer Focus, Peirce has diversified the company’s portfolio, launching a seven-SKU pre-seasoned line and developing its first further-processed product, a ground chicken offering. An ambassador for the brand and its products at trade shows and customer visits, she was active in the creation of the ground chicken, leading to the formation of the new further-processing team. Peirce was recently tapped to design a new test kitchen that will enable Farmer Focus to ramp up its production innovations even more. She’s described as eminently resourceful, as well as responsive to team members at every level of the organization. 

Jamie Young

VP of Operations, Farmer Focus

Age: 35

In only a matter of months since joining the company, Young overhauled all aspects of Farmer Focus’ operations. The move to strategically expand capacity and empower team members to contribute at higher levels allowed the company to pursue its mission of protecting and promoting family farms. To further improve efficiencies, Young created the role of senior continuous improvement manager, and, to enhance the product portfolio, he worked with the R&D team to roll out a new ground chicken product. Young, who earned a Bronze Star in the U.S. Army, brings great focus, approachability and accountability to his work. 

Megan Brewer

Store Manager, The Fresh Market

Age: 35

She’s considered a region leader in guest satisfaction and operational areas such as wage management and sanitation, but Brewer doesn’t rest on her laurels as manager of The Fresh Market in Fayetteville, N.C. Continual improvement is a hallmark of her work: Brewer’s store was selected as a test location for new company programs and has been featured as a “show store” for the area, where executives, managers and department leaders come to see how a successful location is run. Brewer also serves as training store manager and is a member of The Fresh Market President’s Council. 

Heather Hart

Category Manager-Produce Merchandising, The Fresh Market

Age: 33

Passionate about produce, Hart oversees several fruit and vegetable categories and manages the sustainable purchasing program and overall supply chain for produce across four distribution centers. She has improved her categories by 10% year over year, revamped the packaged salad selection with new vendors for a 5% lift and established an improved request for proposal for the department. A member of the Southeast Produce Council, Hart was chosen for that group’s inaugural class of the Next Generation Leadership Academy. Her peers and leaders see her as informative, available and direct in a compassionate way.

Cassie Mabe

E-Commerce Marketing Manager, The Fresh Market

Age: 37

Mabe achieved double-digit e-commerce revenue growth in her first 18 months with the company — primarily driven by an increase in new digital users from The Fresh Market’s target Millennial audience — and until recently has been doing this as an individual contributor. Using the video commerce platform Firework, she created more than 600 short shoppable videos in 2022, and by August, The Fresh Market surpassed 365 days of total watch time. These videos enhance the company’s storytelling and allow consumers to click a “shop now” button and be directed to that item on its e-comm site where they can complete their purchase, enhancing the retailer’s omnichannel marketing approach. 

Jesse Randall

Store Manager, The Fresh Market

Age: 39

Randall is a leader not just for the region, but also for the entire company. She served on the President’s Council and the Company Store Manager Committee; is a mentor to young and new leaders, as well as a member of several business resource groups; and has been awarded President’s Club honors twice. After starting several initiatives, Randall has become a trailblazer in operational areas such as shrink, organizational metrics and sanitation. She hosted the region’s show store, with her location serving as an example of how every department operates seamlessly and above company standards. Besides her regular duties, Randall is a trainer for new store management, acting as a continual resource. 

Lance Bonner

Transportation Operations Manager, The Giant Co.

Age: 36

Bonner’s passion for people and operational excellence has added immense value to The Giant Co.’s distribution channels. He has created streamlined processes to manage overtime and monitor bids for expedited scheduling. By establishing clear communication channels among stores, the distribution center and transportation teams, Bonner has fostered greater efficiencies across the business — decreasing store turnaround times and increasing on-time deliveries while promoting team member safety. He’s also led efforts to revitalize the company’s vendor inbound compliance program, which has grown program revenue by nearly 195% year over year.

Ashley Flower

Manager, PR, The Giant Co.

Age: 39

Flower helped create Top Guac, a celebrity guacamole-making contest benefiting a local food bank. The event was a huge success in terms of media impressions and raising awareness of the food bank and the need for produce. Top Guac has since become a hallmark event. Additionally, when the company’s bees were stolen from headquarters, Flower hosted local media to talk about the issue of bee colony theft and the consequences to the food supply chain. This resulted in 260-plus media placements internationally and 15 million media impressions in a matter of days. Flower also single-handedly developed and executed the company’s Small Business Emergency Grant Program. 

Maura Kalberer

Human Resource and Total Rewards Manager, The Giant Co.

Age: 37

Kalberer led efforts to introduce benefits from day one, a new policy that ensures all team members are eligible for health benefits on their first day of employment. She was selected to be part of the company’s special taskforce to create its well-being strategy. She also launched a training series with insurance partners to support mental health and physical well-being. Kalberer’s efforts have been critical to the company’s retention and attraction of top talent by offering equitable and competitive compensation rates and total rewards packages. Additionally, she’s a pillar lead for the company’s CARE business resource group for fellow working caretakers.

Bill Patton

Regional Center Store Merchandising Manager, The Giant Co. 

Age: 33

When needs for dairy and kitchen team member leads arose in stores, Patton helped guide the promise initiative activation to bring together store, category management and HR teams to create new roles. Under his leadership, new in-store roles were created brand-wide by adding dairy/frozen and kitchen leads. Patton and his team redesigned the structure of center store roles and key responsibilities for data integrity lead and department manager roles. He also joined a special labor management project to improve labor forecasting, planning and execution. Patton helped develop tactical solutions to address workforce challenges, and he was critical in leading the review of labor standards in all departments and defining productivity opportunities and base needs.

Mark Salinger

Brand Strategy Manager, The Giant Co. 

Age: 38

Salinger spearheaded the company’s reinvented competitive strategy, building a cross-functional team to redesign ways of working to maximize a competitive intrusion defense. The team developed an inclusive operational process to adapt to the unique needs of markets through customer and competitor insights, creating a playbook to prepare for new competitor intrusions. He also led the democratizing store-clustering evolution, leveraging internal and external data to strengthen economic, brand and customer insights. Additionally, he guided internal teams to develop an inclusive holiday playbook to integrate with the commercial holiday calendar for stores. Additionally, as founding officer of the THRIVE business resource group, Salinger provides professional development opportunities.

Jonathan Arons

Communications and Community Relations Manager, Giant Food

Age: 30

Arons goes beyond supporting his marketing team and the organization. He serves on the Giant Food PRIDE business resource group (BRG) executive board as finance chair, responsible for managing the BRG’s budget and fundraising for nonprofit partners. He raised more than $35,000 in monetary and gift card donations to SMYAL, an organization dedicated to meeting the needs of LGBTQ youth. He helped increase 2021 volunteer hours from 250 to 1,300-plus in 2022 through his leadership and passion for his work. In addition to doubling the amount of sustainability volunteer events in 2022, Arons implemented a new roundup program that raised more than $1.2 million for 11 organizations.

Kathryn Kowalzik

Director of Brand Strategy and Creative, Giant Food

Age: 37

Kowalzik helped to reshape Giant’s brand identity, de-aging the brand and strengthening its position as the market leader in a highly competitive trading area. She has shepherded several key initiatives as a leader of cross-functional project teams, including new meal solution programs, value promotions and local partner programs. Kowalzik led efforts to bring local vendor stories to life through video and social vignettes, and evolved Giant’s messaging platform to tell its own local story through associate and community-focused videos. These engaging video series contribute to better media performance, improved brand health for Giant, growth of the primary customer base, and increased engagement from target customers.

Henry Michaelson

CTO, Halla

Age: 27

Michaelson’s visionary leadership led the way in spearheading the development of Halla’s MVP, an AI-powered grocery recommendation product that has revolutionized the shopping experience. He diligently supervised the creation and release of two mobile apps, further solidifying Halla’s position as a tech-driven industry leader. With Michaelson at the helm, Halla’s innovative solutions have been seamlessly integrated with the operations of numerous top-ranking grocery retailers and thousands of storefronts. A member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Class of 2023, he is frequently a guest of trade publications and industry podcasts, where he shares his insights on AI and retail innovation.

Hope Bell 

Co-manager, Harris Teeter

Age: 38

When Bell was placed in the fresh food department, she pushed the team to strive for success in all areas and made a big impact within the department. She was able to get fresh food sales growth to outpace store sales growth by developing processes to maintain sales floor conditions and go after sales. In addition, her location, Store #357, continuously has some of the highest — if not the highest — numbers of dinners sold from the event station, thanks to Bell’s involvement in planning and ordering. Under her leadership, Store #357 has achieved some of the highest sales growth and customer growth in the company.

Brekke Brown

Associate Relations Specialist, Harris Teeter

Age: 38

As co-chair for the Young Professionals resource group, Brown assisted in revamping the Harris Teeter Hero program, which recognizes top performers in stores, at the corporate level and in distribution centers. As a member of the Thrive resource group, which helps to educate associates and create an inclusive environment, she organized autism, MS and mental health awareness events. Brown led improvements in culture and retention by driving associate engagement initiatives: She introduced and helped develop the WOW (Week of Welcome) program for the distribution business, enabling the company to provide consistent and easily accessible information for new hires and existing associates. Brown has also taken the lead in facilitating classes for the distribution center management team.

Brad Crews

Distribution Systems Manager, Harris Teeter

Age: 31

Crews implemented an equipment-tracking and inventory program that uncovered opportunities to reallocate equipment, avoiding the need for new purchases. He led projects to create the Store Delivery Arrival Time web page and online load sheets, providing instant delivery visibility to stores. Crews has captured more than $1 million in savings through engineered labor standard audits and enhancements. Since overseeing salvage dock operations, he maximized schedules to provide 24/7 coverage and created streamlined procedures for trailer movement and processing. These innovations reduced pending salvage trailers by more than 75%. Crews is also a member of the company’s Young Professionals associate resource group.

Brittany Dell-Pryor

Store Director, Harris Teeter

Age: 34

Dell-Pryor’s energetic personality directly affects store performance. Thanks to her guidance and passion, customer service scores quickly improved, increasing multiple percentage points with each quarter. She has also enhanced all other store metrics, including store audits, out-of-stocks and food safety. When she’s talking with associates, Dell-Pryor is constantly seeking their potential and how they might affect the company’s overall success. As such, she’s always prepared to help coach part-time associates to become co-managers. As a member of the Young Professionals associate resource group, Dell-Pryor understands that the next generation will be the future leaders of the company.

Matt Farrugia

Store Director, Harris Teeter

Age: 35

Before Farrugia took over Store #279, it had a “Needs Improvement” notation on its store scorecard, having failed to meet the minimum goal of “Meets Expectations” on all measurable categories. During the first six months under his guidance, Store #279 overcame all of its deficits and became a leader in out-of-stock scans and asset protection — without changing any department managers. The store earned a perfect 100% on an asset protection audit and maintained a 99% average for the year. By the end of the year, Farrugia had led his team to an “Exceeds Expectations” designation on its overall store scorecard. He has also pioneered shortage programs for all of the stores he’s managed, discovering more than $350,000 in warehouse shortages.

Kat Kleinsteuber

Operations Support Specialist, Harris Teeter

Age: 33

Kleinsteuber worked on developing a way for stores to monitor their key performance indicators to combat theft. She and her team partnered with asset protection to develop some key metrics that would address potential theft/training opportunities in stores. Kleinsteuber has also helped the company relaunch the mystery shop process and roll the program out to stores; this has provided greater intentional insight to improve overall store service. Among her other achievements are the orchestrated grocery delivery services for Martin Marietta associates attending the Heritage golf tournament in Hilton Head Island, S.C. This endeavor produced more than $15,000 in additional sales and 2,200 items for Store #423 over a three-day span. 

Jim Mastromichalis

Category Manager, Harris Teeter

Age: 39

Mastromichalis drove growth in the berry category by developing ways to promote super-high-flavor and -sugar varietals of items. His strategic plan incorporated negotiating for fruit and developing a high-visibility area to execute. He initiated shelf talker cards and special signage and talking points for the internal team, and redeveloped the berry-handling standard to ensure freshness. Subsequently, berry sales increased 8.14%, while units rose 3.69%. Premium berry sales were 15% of traditional sales, with no share or dollars lost in traditional items. Mastromichalis led communications with the warehouse team to forecast front-page and high-volume expectations. He also led a produce perception strategic initiative and the Young Professionals associate resource group.

Ashley Pellum

Co-Manager, Harris Teeter

Age: 37

Because of her commitment to Harris Teeter and to getting better every day, Pellum was chosen by senior management to represent the entire company, including her fellow salaried managers, in roundtable discussions with the company’s senior leadership to be an agent of change and facilitate productive conversations on how to improve day-to-day company operations. She helped Store #96 achieve more than $3.8 million in operating profit and a 0.28% wage percentage below the budgeted number. The total customer service composite score was 97.1% for the year, putting Pellum’s store in the top 25 of the company. She also received top results in store waste, food safety and controllable out-of-stock averages.

Olivia Pike

Co-manager, Harris Teeter

Age: 34

Pike is known as a team player who goes above and beyond to ensure success within her company. She has trained five department leadership training candidates and mentored four department managers, and in addition to her job as co-manager, she helps ensure sales and labor forecasts are correct for her operating district on a weekly basis and assists other stores with nonperishable inventory preparations. Further, she has helped improve sales from previous years, increased item count, improved waste results and enhanced service expectations at every store where she has worked.

Heath Redman

Store Director, Harris Teeter

Age: 36

Since becoming a store director, Redman has made a significant impact at every Harris Teeter location to which he’s been assigned, including such accomplishments as increasing store sales each year by an average of 10%. He has personally identified and developed two internal candidates for the company’s leadership development program and trained several other internal and external candidates for management roles. Not only is Redman known for establishing a culture of high energy and morale in associates, but he also reached the coveted $3 Million Dollar Club this year in sales profit.

RJ Abdou Seoud

Director of Agile, Cloud Engineering, Invafresh

Age: 35

Recognizing the need for increased efficiency and adaptability in the face of a rapidly changing industry, Abdou Seoud championed the implementation of Agile project management methodologies. This transformation revolutionized the way Invafresh operates, enabling teams to collaborate more effectively, respond quickly to market demands, and deliver high-quality products and services to customers. Abdou Seoud is an innovative thinker who spearheaded the implementation of Scrum methodologies to enable his team to break down complex projects into manageable sprints and to visualize workflow to optimize productivity. He’s also considered an inspiring leader who empowers his colleagues to think outside the box, encouraging them to explore new avenues for growth and development.

Jorge Alfonso

Head of Digital Merchandising, The Kroger Co.

Age: 35

Alfonso is responsible for how Kroger does business online, including how promotions come to life digitally, how merchandising principles play a part in Kroger’s online search and site experience, and how the company improves its operational effectiveness. He has reimagined the entire business process for digital and what digital merchandising team action from a day-to-day perspective should be, which has led to monumental growth for the organization, including more than 15% growth in digital in Q1 2023. Alfonso is known to be approachable and willing to roll up his sleeves and get into the details of a problem to help find a solution.

Meghan Barton

Category Manager, The Kroger Co.

Age: 32

Armed with strategic planning and a visionary mindset, Barton leads merchandising for 16 frozen food categories, supporting 2,700 Kroger stores across the country. She contributed numerous ideas outside her scope of responsibility to influence Kroger’s go-to-market strategy and enhance the customer experience, is a daily mentor to her peers, and does an outstanding job supporting their growth while seeking her own development to continue building her leadership mindset. Additionally, her frozen meatless strategy resulted in a positive 2022 fiscal year for the category for the first time in five years.

Phil Cecil

Project Manager, The Kroger Co.

Age: 34

Cecil is known as someone who can take something wildly complex and distill it in ways that leaders can easily comprehend and filter, positively affecting the decisions they make for the business, their associates and customers. He has transformed how data reporting is done, allowing reports to be automatically updated in an effort to give project leaders more time to implement programs that will improve the retail experience instead of tediously poring over spreadsheets. Cecil is also passionate about helping others succeed in both their jobs and their careers, often sharing his own skills with others, identifying what skills others have and coordinating the information exchange.

Joelle Halle

Senior Product Design Manager, The Kroger Co.

Age: 29

In 2022, Halle worked alongside her team to develop a vision and strategy for hybrid shoppers, identifying key opportunities in that space. She informed many of the organizational decisions that resulted in the formation of the omnichannel experience team, which she now leads. In this role, Halle artfully weaves together the digital and physical shopping experiences to best serve hybrid shoppers. Her data-driven perspective allows her to identify success measures early in the design process, and she’s known to be fearless in the pursuit of trying something new and learning from the experience.

Michaele Logronio

Senior Compliance Program Manager, The Kroger Co.

Age: 35

According to his employer, Logronio’s impact on Kroger general merchandise has been revolutionary. He has led the development of a system that automates monitoring and reporting product compliance status against Kroger’s product safety and integrity standards, which not only minimizes potential errors associated with manual management, but also significantly improves productivity and traceability throughout the supply chain. Additionally, Logronio led a product testing optimization program that resulted in annual savings of at least $500,000, and developed a manufacturing control program for children’s products that was approved by the state of Oregon.

Chelsea Roberts    

Category Manager II, The Kroger Co.

Age: 35

Roberts is known to approach her work through the lens of the customer and what decisions will have the most positive impact for Kroger’s shoppers. She’s always looking to lead change and innovation in the categories she works on, continually seeking out opportunities for Kroger to be first to market with creative brands or products. For example, she partnered with Pearl Rock on launching an exclusive natural food brand, which is now Pearl Rock’s No. 1 brand for total households. Roberts also enjoys being a part of the Women’s EDGE associate resource group at Kroger and the NextUp Cincinnati events committee.

Kristin Smith    

Manager of Training and Development, The Kroger Co.

Age: 32

Smith is a leader on the training team, championing compliance and other critical learning curricula that Kroger’s teams need to serve its customers. In her tenure at Kroger, Smith’s initiatives have transformed the associate learning program, with one of her many accomplishments being the introduction of mobile learning in the flow of work, enabling front-line associates to access their training in short, interactive modules. As a visionary, Smith possesses an ability to anticipate industry trends, identify emerging opportunities, listen to key business stakeholders and guide the organization toward a future-oriented mindset.

Andrew Cron

SVP of Research Science, The Kroger Co./84.51°

Age: 35

Cron helped rebuild 84.51° and Kroger’s research and development capabilities, structuring the innovation groups to operate as risk-adjusted portfolios accountable for delivering a targeted return. In his first year in this role, his teams delivered an 11-fold return on investment. Cron works closely with emerging leaders and consistently presents opportunities for them to be challenged and grow. He also serves as a board member with Last Mile Food Rescue and has helped the organization navigate technology partner engagement hurdles to find the best way to achieve its goal of solving hunger in Cincinnati.

Amanda Downin

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./Central Division

Age: 27

Downin leads her team by example, embraces mentorship and helps her associates grow to reach their respective career goals. She’s a strong proponent of open communication with her associates and of honesty as a core value. Downin and her team achieved all five metrics of Full, Fresh and Friendly — Kroger priorities to drive the best customer experience — and merchandising standards have improved so much that her store has hosted standards walks for the first time in years. She makes it a point to arrive at work every day with a positive attitude for herself, her associates and her customers.

Cholticha Powell    

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./Central Division

Age: 33

Powell began her Kroger career in 2012 and has been a team member at nine Central division stores, playing a key role at each. Her contributions were evident early on in her Kroger career, and she quickly earned the reputation of someone who gets things done. Powell sees the value in providing associates with the tools, resources and knowledge to get results, and she takes the time to make this training and management style a priority. Additionally, Powell believes in giving back to local communities and offers her support to Kroger’s ongoing Zero Hunger | Zero Waste mission.

Deangela Benefield    

Division Fuel Manager, The Kroger Co./Cincinnati Division

Age: 35

Benefield’s special assignment as an Our Promise and Purpose facilitator was especially significant to her and the division, as she was responsible for teaching thousands of associates about Kroger’s core tenets. As fuel manager, Benefield strives to cultivate an atmosphere that differentiates Kroger from the competition, and is highly conscientious about how fuel centers are presented to customers. She continuously provides her people with opportunities to excel and gives them the tools they need to be successful, whether in her department or an area that’s not under her direct jurisdiction.

Lamaur Buck    

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./Columbus Division

Age: 30

In addition to his store leader role, Buck is both a store leader development program trainer and a store-leader-in-waiting trainer. He is known to lead with a consistent goal to improve, which is always at the forefront of everything he does in his various roles. Buck strives to elevate himself and others around him by using a calm-intensity method, and he believes in leading with high expectations to empower his associates to find quick solutions to opportunities. Additionally, Buck helps cultivate a culture of pride and consistency, and makes it his duty to ensure that every associate feels valued, included and confident.

Clayton McAfee

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./Dillons Division

Age: 34

As a store leader in 2022, McAfee exceeded his sales goal and achieved an increase in identical sales versus last year while reducing his store turnover by 16.3%. When it came to company metrics, he achieved a five out of five across the board for everything Full, Fresh and Friendly while improving his controllable costs and shrink throughout the store. Additionally, he continually seeks opportunities to improve, reach out and make a difference, whether it’s in his store, his district, the company or the community he serves.

Daniela Pelayo Funez    

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./Food 4 Less Division

Age: 30

After working as an assistant store leader, Pelayo Funez moved into the newly developed grocery specialist role, in which capacity she was able to pass on her knowledge and experiences throughout several stores in the division. She supported each store and assisted with improving their overall sales, and also guided store teams on proper merchandising, ordering and overall execution of the merchandising plan. Pelayo Funez was promoted to store leader in March 2023.

Samuel Alden    

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./Fry’s Division

Age: 39

After starting out as an assistant overnight grocery manager and spending nearly 15 years with Fry’s, Alden is now known as one of the company’s most inspiring young leaders. He became a store leader in 2020 and has used his forward-thinking, innovative approach and vision to connect with people and transform the stores he leads. Alden creates “retail-tainment” events to generate in-store excitement in regard to the NBA finals, the Super Bowl and the World Baseball Classic, and works with local vendors to provide food sampling, live music and an art show featuring the work of local artists.

Aaron Carleton 

Division Produce/Floral Merchandiser, The Kroger Co./King Soopers Division 

Age: 38 

Carleton’s impressive journey began with his nomination as a top 25 produce leader early in his career. Over the past couple of years, he has excelled as a high-performing leader in one of Kroger’s highest-volume divisions. He takes pride in mentoring and teaching individuals who have gone on to hold greater responsibilities and positively influence their communities, customers and team members. Further, his expertise in technology, feedback utilization and strategic implementation has consistently delivered multimillion-dollar increases in profitability, sales and market share across multiple departments.

Tristan Mead 

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./King Soopers City Market Division

Age: 36

Mead has played a key role in exceeding sales goals and reducing shrink. He was instrumental in improving pickup sales, resulting in an impressive increase compared with the previous year. Mead goes above and beyond to support his colleagues and develop associates. His location serves as a SLDP (Store Leadership Development Program) training store, demonstrating his commitment to nurturing and training future leaders. Additionally, Mead’s active participation on the King Soopers/City Market President’s Council showcases his recognition as a high-potential leader who shares valuable insights and honest thoughts about the company with the division president. 

Brenda Barnes

Clinical Operations Manager, The Kroger Co./Kroger Health

Age: 36 

After completing a two-year residency with the University of Cincinnati, Barnes was promoted to pharmacy manager in July 2016. The following year, she relocated to Texas to join the Dallas team and establish her career in field work as a coordinator. In her current role, Barnes works tirelessly to integrate quality clinical interventions into the daily workflow of community practice. She helps simplify pharmacist interventions to support patients at a higher level through adherence programs, comprehensive medication reviews and other clinical services such as developing new trainings and simplifying the associate experience in the new clinical workflow. 

Bethanie Martini

Senior Strategic Programs Leader, The Kroger Co./Kroger Health 

Age: 38 

Martini started her career with Kroger in 2009 as a customer service and documentation specialist. After working in other roles and earning a degree in business administration from Penn State University, she was promoted to the role of Kroger Health’s innovation coordinator and project manager for the Healthcare Modernization Team, in which position, she led the discovery, vendor selection, contracting and implementation of same-day prescription delivery at 1,800 pharmacies nationwide, and designed and coordinated the implementation of telehealth services across nine states and 211 retail clinics. In her current role, she continues to be innovative and customer-oriented in her work to execute with excellence on Kroger Health’s strategic initiatives. 

Megan Richter 

Senior Product Designer Manager, The Kroger Co./Kroger Technology & Digital 

Age: 30 

Since her first day at Kroger, Richter has driven change and innovation through her own work and influenced those around her. Instead of simply doing things because of tradition or precedent, she tries different approaches and methodologies. When facing a challenge or seemingly impossible task, she wants to overcome it even more. As a product designer, Richter delivers value through continuous-discovery practices and strong cross-functional collaboration. She and her team built a new digital shoppable weekly ad from the ground up, a high-visibility project involving many stakeholders and touching multiple business units. With a growth mindset, Richter always encourages her associates to strive for what’s possible.

Bradley Foreman

Store Leader, The Kroger Co./Louisville Division

Age: 36

Foreman has been a store leader at seven locations in his 10 years with Kroger, growing the associate experience and solving problems for the customer each step of the way. Since being promoted to store leader at the Louisville division’s flagship store, Foreman has broken every sales record at the location, growing associate engagement by 10% while decreasing turnover. He serves as a district trainer for the Store Leadership Development Program and helps grow and promote talent throughout the metro area. Foreman is an active member of his local chamber of commerce and has created robust partnerships with several community organizations. 

Cam Barrett

Corporate Affairs Manager, The Kroger Co./Michigan Division

Age: 32 

Positive, creative and communicator are the three words that come to mind when describing Barrett, who has made a big impact on Kroger and his community in multiple ways. He launched a new associate recognition program and led the development of associate insight towers, which communicate the company’s vision and mission, goals, associate benefits, updates on store metrics, and well-being resources. For the community, Barrett leads the execution of an in-store program that has diverted more than 3.75 million pounds of rescued food to local food banks and community partners. He also oversees the company’s community rewards platform, which supports more than 4,300 nonprofits across the state of Michigan. 

Casey Smith

Division Associate Relations Manager, The Kroger Co./Mid-Atlantic Division 

Age: 36 

In his 15 years at Kroger, Smith has built a reputation as a people champion over the course of nine roles, including assistant store leader, store leader, district HR leader and his current position of division associate relations manager. His most important role, however, has been improving employee engagement and creating positive labor and associate relations: He has quickly become the subject-matter expert for his division and is a key player in advancing store operations through union and labor relations. Smith helped create a year-round multichannel initiative to improve participation in Kroger’s annual Associate Insights Survey, which led to a 15% increase in participation year over year. 

Aaron Tapp

District HR Specialist, The Kroger Co./Nashville Division

Age: 38 

Tapp has always focused on making a positive and lasting impact on each role he’s held throughout his career. Recently, Tapp helped develop the technical methods behind new-hire onboarding, which will help streamline the process for both candidates and the hiring team by embracing new technology. He was also selected to partner with another division to observe best practices and learn about processes and tools that could be implemented in the Nashville division. Currently Tapp is a lead trainer for Every Customer, Every Time, a program that teaches store teams best practices for the overall customer experience. He’s also playing a key role in the next-phase rollout of Kroger’s new integrated HR system, MyInfo.

Angel Carreno 

District Manager, The Kroger Co./Roundy’s Division 

Age: 36 

Carreno is a confident and transformational leader who quickly adapts to change. In addition to logging exceptional front end metrics, he has prioritized shrink reduction by making processes an essential part of how District 6 stores do business each day. This has brought a sense of pride and ownership to store managers and teams, with a goal to stay at No. 1 throughout the year. Carreno motivates and inspires District 6 associates to raise the bar on everything they do. He uses his past experiences to help drive himself and the district, creating a sales-driven mindset among his store teams. 

Kat Hummel 

Store Director, The Kroger Co./Roundy’s Division 

Age: 38 

Joining Mariano’s in 2020 from the restaurant industry, Hummel applied her knowledge of customer care, food safety standards, training and SOP processes to her work and raised operational standards at the beloved grocery chain. In 2021, Hummel was promoted to north region operations specialist, in which capacity she improved operational and financial results across 22 stores. Last year, she was promoted to her current role at Store #507. She maintains excellent results in the categories of Full, Fresh and Friendly (FFF) as head of a leading store in District 12; motivates her team to follow FFF practices; and encourages teamwork as a “community who serves a community.” 

Nick Faltas 

Assistant Process Change Manager, The Kroger Co./Supply Chain 

Age: 28 

Over the past year, Faltas has led efforts to optimize inbound deliveries at Kroger distribution centers. Working directly with suppliers, distribution centers and replenishment planning teams, he has built enhanced tools and processes to drive improvement and accountability across the business. These efforts have been instrumental in supporting Kroger’s efforts to provide customers with the products they want. Faltas is inquisitive and innovative: When faced with a challenge, he attempts to clarify the true problem, and then uses data to work toward a solution. He also embraces new solutions and is never afraid to try. 

Tyler Troutman 

Supply Chain Process Change Manager, The Kroger Co./Supply Chain 

Age: 29 

Troutman has developed tools and processes that have helped automate store ordering and reduced workloads for store associates, especially during holidays and events. The development of these tools helped modernize Kroger’s supply chain analytics practices and led to a significant reduction in out-of-stocks, increased forecast accuracy and an improved customer shopping experience. Through inclusive leadership, Troutman successfully developed a process focused on the unique needs of the division and the consumer base. The team was impressed with his initiative to learn new analytical methods to overcome data limitations.

Mitch Cook 

Store Director, Meijer 

Age: 35 

Cook started at Meijer in October 2018 as a fresh line leader. By February 2019, he was the regional trainer for fresh rotation, teaching leads how to manage fresh departments. Then he became a store director and successfully opened the pilot Capital City Market store, in downtown Lansing, Mich. Less than a year later, Cook took over another concept store, Bridge Street Market, in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he successfully piloted and adopted new devices for the entire company. Additionally, as a board member of the Meijer YoPro team member resource group, he facilitated events for young Meijer professionals. Cook is currently rolling out a new computer-generated ordering system.

Emily Gundersen 

Director, Marketing Operations, Meijer 

Age: 38 

Gundersen leads the project management, ad development, and broadcast and photo operations teams. She’s focused on achieving operational excellence, and her scope of influence is corporate-wide, with a sigificant impact on Meijer’s financial success, growth and reputation. Gundersen led the implementation of Agile for Meijer’s marketing team, guiding 150-plus team members to a new way of thinking, working and organizing. During the pandemic, she quickly and seamlessly pivoted the Agile experience to virtual, and then, in 2022, to a hybrid approach. Gundersen’s efforts have led to a more collaborative and empathetic team. 

Jared Love

Manager, Financial Planning and Reporting, Meijer

Age: 31 

Love is passionate about his work and always looking for ways to improve the company, stores and finance department processes. He has demonstrated this through his implementation of a faster and more accurate forecasting cadence, which allows leadership to make decisions in advance of final results. Love is also supportive of his colleagues and strives to create an environment in which everyone can thrive. He has demonstrated this through his mentorship of fellow team members, his leadership of volunteer efforts at Meijer, and his partnership with mDAAG (Meijer Disability Awareness & Advocate Group). 

Ron Lovelace

Director of Produce, Meijer 

Age: 38 

In Lovelace’s 17 years at Meijer, his career has spanned store leadership, center store buying and the produce division. In 2021-22, he took on the challenge of reinventing a marquee merchandising division in Meijer stores: produce. In one year, Lovelace championed and helped lead and facilitate a full department upgrade and remodel — something not done in decades. He leveraged his merchandising experience and jumped in with both feet. The end result: continued year-over-year sales and profitability growth, including customer penetration gains in existing and new markets. This change has helped inspire other areas to shift the shopping experience and continues to receive praise from customers and team members. 

Mark McIntosh 

Senior Manager of Design, Real Estate and Store Development, Meijer 

Age: 39 

McIntosh started out as a product designer for Meijer’s own-brand home, hardlines and consumables. He took on the creative development of Meijer’s first small-market format, Bridge Street Market, in Grand Rapids, Mich., which resulted in his transition to store design. From there, he led the creative development of the next iteration of Meijer’s interior design package for the retailer’s supercenters, and the creation of the Meijer Express brand name. In 2020, McIntosh led the Meijer design team on two large initiatives: the evolution of the supercenter layout and design of the new-format Meijer Grocery. Through it all, he’s stayed on top of trends and translated Meijer’s brand ethos into impressive designs.

Kristina Nabors

Store Director, Meijer

Age: 35

Living up to the pronunciation of her surname, Nabors has made an impact in both her  company and the wider community: She began a clothing drive to collect business attire to help women advance in the workplace. Nabors also cultivated a partnership between the product departments and the curbside pickup area to lower the number of items marked out of stock during the picking process, and her store was the first to institute a new inventory management system for product flow. Most importantly, Nabors espouses a culture where associates can be their authentic selves through events enabling them to share their diverse backgrounds.

Alex Ross

Store Director, Meijer

Age: 37

Approaching each day and individual with a positive attitude, Ross challenges team members, leadership and community partners to assess any situation from all angles to provide the most positive outcome. At his current store, in Jackson, Mich., he has dramatically improved culture survey results, customer satisfaction, same-store sales and in-stocks, as well as connecting with multiple community partners. While working in Flint, Mich., a city plagued by an ongoing water crisis, poverty and socioeconomic disparities, he was able to create a positive setting for his team. The three words most associate with Ross’ leadership style are inclusion, engagement and growth.

Krystal Sheerer

Director Specialty Pharmacy Services and Industry Relations, Meijer

Age: 36

Sheerer has guided the specialty pharmacy business to 25% year-over-year growth, but her collaborative, agile and adaptable leadership extends far beyond financial success, as she has focused on simplifying the complexities of the specialty pharmacy journey for patients. Through the adoption of innovative strategies and technology, Sheerer has ensured that both patients and the team that serves them benefit from the initiatives. She also played a pivotal role in establishing an acclaimed partnership with a health care system to provide collaborative blood pressure management, breaking down access to care barriers and paving the way for an expanded scope of pharmacy practice.

Nathen Vock

Store Director, Meijer

Age: 39

Vock increased sales by 8.59% at his store in less than eight month by bringing in authentic Hispanic and Asian items that weren’t previously offered at the location. He also reduced food waste by double digits through such programs as Flashfood. Vock took previously undeveloped space in the store and created a local college shop, which has attracted new customers to the location, aided back-to-school move-in efforts and supported local schools during athletic events. He has also partnered with area community leaders to generate interest in the development of the land around the store to draw even more customer traffic.

Kevin Wieringa

Capital Construction Program Manager, Meijer

Age: 33

Following a pandemic-related pause on many construction projects, Wieringa helped lead the team of project managers to complete a number of projects nearly double what was seen in previous years, despite the new complexities of remote work and an ever-changing supply chain. He managed this increase in project workload by recognizing the strengths of each team member and enabling them to work as efficiently as possible while also being exposed to development opportunities. Wieringa also worked to identify opportunities to streamline project workflows. Beyond that, he led the effort to modernize Meijer Real Estate and Store Development’s project management software. 

Rebecca Robinson

Quality Standards Manager, PCC Community Markets

Age: 35

Robinson oversees the development and management of product standards at PCC while developing educational resources for suppliers and staff. Her leadership in this field has established the Pacific Northwest grocery cooperative as an industry leader. Working collaboratively with merchandisers and stakeholders, Robinson ensures that all standards are reasonable, achievable and science-backed, and also provides support for PCC’s advocacy work, using her expertise to help the co-op make needle-moving policy recommendations. In particular, she demonstrated collaboration, innovation and leadership in co-authoring PCC’s Inclusive Trade Program standard. 

Concetta Ferlauto

Senior Director of Sales, Procter & Gamble

Age: 33

Ferlauto collaborates with major retailers on plans that significantly improve category growth. She developed and led the launches of Downy Light scent beads and Bounce Pet, both of which were top category new item launches. As the household needs sales leader for P&G’s Kroger team, Ferlauto delivered breakthrough category growth that accelerated the segment, delighted consumers, and drove retailer sales and profitability to record highs. Additionally, her passion to elevate women in business is evident in her leadership of the Greater Ohio Sales Women’s Network, the Cincinnati Sales P&G New Hire Network, and the Washington University recruiting team for P&G. 

Amy Modlin

Sales Director, Family Care Kroger Team, Procter & Gamble

Age: 39

Modlin operates with a growth mindset, demonstrating solutions-focused thinking and seeking new and breakthrough ways to achieve results. She embodies a multidisciplinary approach, with her strength in consumer knowledge giving her a strong understanding and connection to consumers of all income levels and demographics. For instance, Modlin’s work with Kroger includes business plans that serve multicultural consumers and individuals with chronic health conditions or constrained incomes. She’s also a leader in the P&G Sales Women’s Network and owns its NextUp Pillar, improving the accessibility and engagement of NextUp content to the network.

Amanda Smock

Director, Last Mile Marketplaces Commercial Leader, Procter & Gamble

Age: 39

Smock plays an instrumental role in developing tools, playbooks and scale for a broader P&G impact. For instance, she translated deep consumer insights into a simple framework that’s considered the best-in-class approach to driving urban/multicultural activation for North America. Earlier in her career, Smock worked with a key online retailer as it was growing in the digital space, pioneering P&G’s overall effort to drive online fundamentals without an established infrastructure by leveraging her expertise in shopper psychology, digital shopper-based design, customer relationship building and executional excellence.

Amanda Cutler

Legal Counsel, Commercial Litigation and Regulatory Compliance, Retail Business Services

Age: 39

Cutler successfully resolves difficult disputes; implements new, efficient ways of working; and supports business goals while reducing legal risk — and saving business partners time and money. Since January 2023, her work for the companies of Ahold Delhaize USA has led to $1 million-plus in savings and about $500,000 in revenue/collections. Beyond these responsibilities, Cutler is the insights and innovation chair for the Pride + Allies business resource group, where she has shared her journey to becoming a better ally. Her leadership style is described as collaborative and innovative.

Greg Hosmer

Safety Manager, Retail Business Services

Age: 37

Hosmer supports safety for ADUSA Distribution and ADUSA Transportation, developing programs focused on injury prevention and providing training, tools and knowledge to ensure that associates are safe at work. He took on a critical role as subject-matter expert in the design of a virtual-reality program created to improve training for warehouse selectors and to reduce their risk of serious injuries, and also helped develop and deliver a presentation for the company’s risk management team about the importance of sleep to enhance performance. Committed to developing his knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis, Hosmer recently earned the Associate Safety Professional credential.

James Montesantos

RBS Safety Manager Supporting Stop & Shop, Retail Business Services

Age: 37

A trusted operations and support partner with 20 years of experience, Montesantos has seen incredible success in the three years that he’s led retail safety efforts for Ahold Delhaize USA’s Stop & Shop banner, including the launch of key systems that resulted in a 10% average reduction in worker injury rates. He also chairs the 100-member Next + Allies business resource group, which is committed to building connections and providing cross-generational support and resources to help associates realize their full career potential. Montesantos additionally supports Stop & Shop community events and is a board member of his local parish church.

Liz Bleakley

Head of PR and Communications, St Pierre Groupe

Age: 34

Bleakley has reduced company outgoings to agencies by more than £215,000 (USD $268,000)  and generated savings of more than £100,000 (USD $125,000) on media rate cards to secure exposure for St Pierre Groupe’s three brands and the business. She demonstrated strong leadership skills during the company’s acquisition, leading the communications strategy and reporting to high-profile senior stakeholders from multiple businesses. To secure the best results for St Pierre, Bleakley had to challenge existing policies and in doing so, demonstrated tenacity, a strategic approach and persuasion skills to ensure positive media coverage for the acquisition and appointment of a new CEO. 

Richard Ellett

Customer Development Director, U.S., St Pierre Groupe

Age: 39

Ellett was instrumental in the growth of the St Pierre brand and branded sales in the United States, bringing the branded business to Walmart for the first time in company history. He grew the brand’s presence with the retailer in two separate categories — breakfast foods and commercial bread — and the five SKUs now account for almost 20% of the brand value in the United States. As a result, the brand’s all-commodity volume across America has nearly doubled and store count has increased by almost 50%. Ellett’s thorough, deeply strategic approach to management has had a significant impact on the business.

Daniel Bargholz

Senior Manager, Customer Insights, SymphonyAI Retail CPG

Age: 38

Having started his working life as a teenage courtesy clerk who then worked his way through college with stints in the front end, general merchandise and center store, Bargholz now builds actionable insights for clients through deep data analysis matched with extensive grocery industry knowledge. He also takes on analytics projects outside of his area of responsibility to share his experience and raise the bar of the collective team. A coach at heart, Bargholz leads hour-long grass-roots Teach Back sessions. These knowledge-sharing sessions, held every other week, enable team members to ask questions, showcase projects and approaches, and present ideas.

Amy Schrank

Project Manager, Center Store Operations, Topco Associates LLC

Age: 36

As a project manager, Schrank oversees and supports the implementation of and compliance with National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard requirements for Topco Own Brands, as well as providing support for members’ own-brand products. Her skillful engagement, navigation of complex business needs and focused effort on continuous improvement have enabled the amazing success of this endeavor, which resulted in an industry-leading digital solution that engages shoppers in learning more about the products and their attributes of interest. No wonder that knowledge, perseverance and communication are the three words that come to mind when colleagues are asked to describe Schrank’s leadership style.

Chloe Thompson

Community Engagement Manager, TPSS Co-op

Age: 25

Responsible for all of TPSS’ consumer relations, Thompson has used her position to expand the grocery co-op’s community throughout the region. Her passion for cooperative enterprise has created a strong network of grocery co-ops in Maryland and Pennsylvania able to rely on one other to boost store membership and advance a solidarity economy. Thompson’s vital vision for the future of grocery co-ops includes operating influential store-run social media platforms and growing membership. An intentional, expansive and people-focused leader, she is always seeking new ways for TPSS to make an impact and remain relevant in the lives of the co-op’s members.

Michael Messier

Senior Manager, Data Governance, United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI)

Age: 36

Messier leads the data governance practice at UNFI, in which capacity he collaborates with company leadership to develop data hierarchies encompassing all of UNFI’s lines of business on a path to a single UNFI experience. He was also responsible for leading the standup, implementation and use of UNFI’s show/event ordering application. Prior ordering was done on paper forms, but leveraging a third-party partner, Messier transitioned UNFI show stakeholders to using a tablet-based app and web portals to better enable customers and suppliers to negotiate, view products and order. He’s described by colleagues as collaborative, devoted and innovative in his approach.

Chris Egan

Business Process Manager, Walgreens

Age: 32

Egan manages internal and external testers for feedback on application designs to enhance the usability of current and future applications, a position in which he works with cross-functional teams to help them understand new systems and how to work with them. In addition, he’s heavily involved in Walgreens’ Transitional Work Group program, which offers training and job opportunities for people with disabilities. In this role, Egan goes above and beyond his job, venturing out into the community to make grass-roots connections with families and nonprofits to help recruit program candidates, and working to make Walgreens’ tools and programs more accessible.