NorCal Grocery Exec Elected to Chair CGA Board
Michel LeClerc, the chief administrative officer of North State Grocery Inc., an employee-owned chain of grocery stores operating as Holiday Market and Sav-Mor-Foods in Northern California and Oregon, was elected the 2024-25 California Grocers Association (CGA) chair of the board of directors at the Sacramento-based trade organization’s annual meeting on Dec. 6.
As chair for a one-year term, LeClerc will guide the board’s strategy in regard to CGA’s various legislative, educational and industry-related programs. CGA comprises more than 350 retail companies operating 6,000-plus stores. He succeeds Lynn Melillo, VP of asset management at Bristol Farms.
“Michel has long been committed to the association and will make a fantastic board chair,” noted CGA President and CEO Ron Fong. “His experience leading our government relations committee over many years has made him intimately familiar with California’s political environment and the challenges and opportunities impacting the grocery industry and will be of great benefit to our members.”
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At Cottonwood, Calif.-based North State, LeClerc oversees the company’s strategic planning, human resources, real estate, legal, compliance, government relations functions, as well as its employee stock ownership plan. He joined North State in 2010 as general counsel and was later the company’s CFO. LeClerc has been on the CGA board of directors since 2011 and chair of the government relations committee since 2014.
As well as LeClerc, the following executives were elected to the 2024-25 CGA board of directors executive committee: first vice chair, Richard Wardwell, Superior Grocers; second vice chair, Jonson Chen, Tawa Supermarket Inc.; treasurer, Pam Burke, Grocery Outlet; secretary, Bertha Luna, State Bros. Markets; and immediate past chair, Melillo.
Directors elected to their first full three-year team were Steve Brancamp, UNFI; Dorothy Carlow, Mother’s Market & Kitchen; Justin Hyer, Molson Coors Beverage Co.; Brady Matoian, OK Produce; Candance Minton, PepsiCo; Chris Richmond, Post Consumer Brands; and Amber Hammond, KeHe Distributors.
Directors elected to their second full three-year term were Joe Angulo, Chedauri USA Inc.; Jon Gianinni, Nutricion Fundamental; Brandon Lombardi, Sprouts Farmers Markets; Andrew Nodes, Instacart; Bethany Pautsch, Tyson Foods Inc.; Eric Pearlman, C&S Wholesale Grocers; and Marc Swisher, Mondelez International Inc.
Elliott Stone, of Mollie Stone’s Markets, was re-elected executive committee-IOC chair, while former CGA Chair Dennis Darling, of Foods Etc. IGA, was elected an honorary board member.
