FMI honors seven food industry executives

Awards presented at the Midwinter Executive Conference

Arlington, Va. – FMI, The Meals Marketplace Affiliation, on Saturday declared its Government Management Awards recipients for 2023. The seven executives — Rick Brindle, Elizabeth Chace-Marino, Ron Edenfield, Bob Obray, Art Potash, Gordon Reid, and Joe Sheridan — have exemplified meals marketplace excellence as a result of to start with-charge corporation leadership, neighborhood effect and consumer provider, in accordance to FMI. The awards were being presented at FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference Awards luncheon, which was sponsored by Unilever.

“The recipients of the 2023 Govt Leadership Awards constitute a masterclass in food items sector leadership,” mentioned FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin. “Their time-tested capabilities and cultivated expertise promoted food stuff sector progress and gracefully elevated the industry’s profile, even when faced with the toughest financial atmosphere in 40 years.”

The recipients of the 2023 Executive Leadership Awards are as follows:

Herbert Hoover Award for Humanitarian Provider

Bob Obray, CEO, Linked Foods Outlets (posthumous)

Bob Obray

Soon after a lifetime of people today-initially development and meals retail results, the late Bob Obray lifted the bar for humanitarian management and left an inspiring legacy of govt management finest techniques. In similar trend to the “Great Humanitarian” Herbert Hoover, Obray led Connected Meals Suppliers with the dual intention of maximizing consumer satisfaction and uplifting communities in need. Through his 18-yr tenure with the corporation, he persistently pushed for innovation and progress. As senior vice president and chief economical officer, he oversaw the growth of the 2020 and Beyond Plan, which analyzed each and every facet of company at Related Food stuff Retailers to establish prospects for enhancement. He also authorized generous donations to the Utah Food items Lender, Major Children’s Healthcare facility, Muscular Dystrophy Affiliation and Make-A-Wish Utah. Obray was fiercely dedicated to the toughness of the impartial grocer, shopper care and collaboration amid his business friends. At the time of his passing, Obray was a vocal participant in FMI’s Wholesaler Share Group and an lively member of FMI’s Board of Directors.

Esther Peterson Award for Customer Support

Elizabeth Chace-Marino, Supervisor of Govt Affairs at Ahold Delhaize United states of america, Inc., and Gordon Reid, President of Stop & Shop

Liz Chace Marino

Esther Peterson’s historic legacy of shopper advocacy and future-concentrated development beautifully captures the qualified ethos of Liz Chace-Marino, Supervisor of Government Affairs at Ahold Delhaize United states of america, and Gordon Reid, President of Prevent & Shop. Above the class of their illustrious professions, the two industry titans made a behavior of using decisive action to clear up urgent local community worries – particularly in the region of hunger and nutrition. Notably, Chace-Marino and Reid get the job done to aid remove starvation and enhance nutritious equity in their communities.

Gordon Reid

Prior to joining Prevent & Shop, Reid served as President of Giant Foodstuff, elevating the brand to the range-a single market share place in each and every of its neighborhood markets. His leadership resulted in the enterprise creating healthy feeding on simpler and far more reasonably priced for shoppers, while also streamlining the common shopping expertise by enhanced residence supply products and services. At Halt & Shop, Gordon has ongoing to be a champion in helping to restrict limitations impacting a child’s means to succeed in the classroom by creating certain that they have dependable entry to foods. By the Cease & Store School Foods Pantry Program, the company has recognized and supported in-university food items pantries benefiting practically 40,000 youngsters and families at much more than 165 colleges throughout its 5-state footprint.

With additional than 30 decades of experience in federal government affairs, local community relations and company affairs, Chace-Marino focuses on legislative and coverage initiatives at all degrees of government. Chace-Marino’s governing administration relations acumen and dogged tenacity helped operationalize Reid’s eyesight to enable folks and households dealing with starvation achieve food safety. They also solid robust associations with community partners, legislators, and starvation reduction advocates by means of the Starvation to Wellness Collaboratory to tackle the root causes of hunger and produce long-phrase solutions. Chace-Marino at the moment serves on FMI’s Governing administration Affairs Committee, FMI SNAP performing undertaking power, and is the past chair of its Gals Infants Youngsters (WIC) Process Force.

Both equally honorees recently participated in FMI-hosted dialogs held at the Smithsonian’s American Historical past Museum during Food Background month to converse with business and governing administration leaders with regards to market commitments to ending starvation, bettering diet, and decreasing diet regime-relevant disorders next the White Property Conference on Nutrition and Well being.

William H. Albers Award for Field Relations

Rick Brindle, Vice President, Market Enhancement, Mondelēz International

Rick Brindle

William H. Albers, also regarded as “Mr. Supermarket,” was an avid industry collaborator. For the duration of his time as president of the Kroger Chain and Albers Tremendous Markets, Inc., he leveraged the collective resources of the food business price chain to expand corporation choices and refine the shopper encounter. Rick Brindle’s huge portfolio of field collaboration mirrors Albers’ approach to food items retail management. A extremely highly regarded trade relations executive, Brindle commenced his profession in 1977 as a food items clerk at Safeway Suppliers, Inc. He then rose to leadership positions inside Procter & Gamble, Nabisco, Kraft Food items and Mondelēz Worldwide. In 1997, he produced Nabisco’s position of vice president of worldwide e-revenue, which carried around to Kraft Meals and Mondelēz Worldwide. In this role, Rick was identified as 1 of the “CPG Marketplace 20 Top rated Visionaries” and has been credited with acquiring a “best in class” eBusiness strategic gross sales platform for grocers pursuing eCommerce techniques. In 2001, market relations was included to Rick’s obligations. Brindle not only utilized his many yrs of knowledge toward bolstering company achievement at Mondelēz, but as a founding member and long-time Chair of FMI’s Marketplace Collaboration Council, he has also invested his energy and market abilities into FMI’s membership. As these kinds of, Rick championed Mondelēz International becoming a member of FMI as a constitution member of the new product or service supplier membership classification, as nicely as the generation of FMI’s two premier investing husband or wife collaboration applications, the Strategic Govt Trade software and the Once-a-year Business enterprise Convention.

Robert B. Wegman Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence

Artwork Potash, CEO, Potash Markets

Art Potash

In order to keep many years of client believe in and top rated-tier shopper company, a foods retail government ought to be remarkably transparent and proactive in prioritizing customer demand from customers, a healthy business tradition and prolonged-term associations with vendor associates. Like foodstuff retail pioneer Robert B. Wegman, Artwork Potash thoroughly understands that these attributes are crucial to the good results of any grocery organization. Art’s entrepreneurial leadership has been instrumental in conquering remarkable troubles in continuing Chicago-centered Potash Marketplaces as the beloved brand name it is today. For example, Potash exemplifies the thought of the community grocery retailer, working a Potash Marketplaces store on the 44^th floor of Chicago’s John Hancock constructing. He has also positioned his firm to serve significant wants in the communities of downtown Chicago. Throughout a period of time of civil unrest in the metropolis, Potash Markets’ Point out St. location suffered damage two times, but every time reopened inside times to provide group members. Further than every day prospects, Potash welcomes legislators and journalists to his retailers to advocate for the foodstuff business in a host of spots, together with swipe charges and tax and trade problems. Potash is a highly regarded and engaged FMI Share Group participant, as perfectly as an active member of FMI’s Board of Directors. At the moment, he serves as Chairman of the Board for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. For his impactful contributions to business advocacy, Art Potash was chosen as the recipient of FMI’s 2012 Glen P. Woodard Award, Jr., Community Affairs Award.

Glen P. Woodard, Jr. Award for General public Affairs

Ron Edenfield, Chairman, Wayfield Foods, Inc.

Ron Edenfield

Next in the footsteps of famed food industry advocate, Glen P. Woodard, Jr., Ron Edenfield serves as an pro public affairs practitioner, championing the requires of foods shops in his dwelling state of Georgia and across the place. In 1982, Edenfield co-founded Wayfield Meals, Inc. with a concentration on turning out to be the ideal keep in the local community for prime-high quality solutions, excellent support and aggressive charges. As chairman of Wayfield Food items, Inc., Edenfield has been proactive in making sure all associates of the food items market have the prospect to realize individuals exact aims at their have businesses by way of skilled general public affairs strategies. Alongside one another with his longtime govt relations colleague, Moses White, and now Andre White, Edenfield has served protected myriad legislative victories for the foods marketplace. A continual fixture in Washington, D.C., Edenfield serves on the two FMI’s Board of Administrators and Public Affairs Committee. His expansive connections on Capitol Hill assisted FMI form robust relationships with Georgia legislators, such as Property Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott and Property Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Sanford Bishop. At the regional level, Edenfield invitations legislators to ribbon cuttings and unique situations at his shops to give them a firsthand watch of food items retail’s difficulties and neighborhood contributions. For illustration, when issues existed in the Georgia WIC system, Edenfield invited the Georgia WIC Director to a person of Wayfield’s merchants to do the job the register on a Friday when WIC positive aspects were designed offered to consumers. That daring technique was the start of a remarkable overhaul to the Georgia WIC program that helped ensure ongoing advantages for individuals. Ron and Andre have been identified to convey fresh new smoked BBQ to legislators which is now notorious all the way to Washington, D.C.

Sidney R. Rabb Award for Statesmanship

Joe Sheridan, President, Wakefern Food stuff Corp.

Joe Sheridan

Number of display a more powerful adore for company and occupation than Joe Sheridan, president of Wakefern Meals Corp. Significantly like Sidney R. Rabb who served as chairman of his family’s grocery organization for far more than four a long time, Sheridan has remained a very pleased and trailblazing worker of Wakefern for 47 years. His job at the corporation began in 1976, when he was employed as a selector in the firm warehouse. He would go on to suppose management roles in logistics, finance, procurement and management in the grocery, immediate-store supply, bakery, overall health and natural beauty treatment, non-meals and pharmacy divisions. In the course of the a long time, Joe has been instrumental to Wakefern’s continued development and results – and these days, the cooperative has extra than 365 retailers under the ShopRite, Price tag Ceremony Marketplace, The Refreshing Grocer, Dearborn Industry, Gourmet Garage and Fairway Industry banners. A staunch advocate of know-how and innovation, in 2002 Joe assisted Wakefern launch 1 of the grocery industry’s earliest online browsing platforms. He has also made important investments in food retail AI to improve merchandise sourcing, stock monitoring and waste reduction. Also, beneath Joe’s management, the cooperative has expanded its banner manufacturers portfolio, launched award-winning personal label lines, and brought on new members. And probably closest to his heart, Joe has assisted Wakefern extend its tradition of offering, donating thousands and thousands of bucks to soup kitchens, foods pantries, homeless shelters and other charities battling food insecurity, together with supporting diabetes study and veterans businesses. Sheridan serves on the FMI Board of Administrators and is earlier Chairman. He also participates in various management roles on FMI board-level committees: Govt Committee, Market Relations, Community Affairs, and Chairman of the Nominating Committee.  In 2020, he served usher in a new period of governance at the association when FMI repositioned alone as the Meals Sector Affiliation.