Movers and Shakers: Food and Drug Stores

by Sima Matthes (New York City)

According to Progressive Grocer, the grocery industry – retail, wholesale and manufacturers – has traditionally had few, if any, females in the C-suites. The article, focusing on the Top Women in Grocery, published earlier this year, celebrated the progress women have made in recent years, “introducing a much-needed female perspective into the upper echelons of food industry management by taking the reins themselves.” To check out their complete list of top women from large and small grocery stores, industry alliances and manufacturers, please go here.

Here is another list–an express line, 10 items only, please—of the movers and shakers in the Fortune 1000 companies in this sector:

Helena Foulkes the lone female executive at CVS/Caremark (Fortune #24), has been the Senior Vice President – Health Services of CVS Pharmacy, Inc. since October 2007. She has been with the company over 15 years, holding progressively responsible positions throughout the corporation, including stints as Senior VP of Marketing and Operations and Senior VP of Advertising and Marketing. She holds a BA from Harvard College and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Dana I. Green is Senior Vice President – General Counsel, Corporate Secretary of Walgreen (Fortune #40). Ms. Green has held this position since 2005, the latest in her 30 years with the company. She began as an attorney in employee relations, gradually assuming more responsible positions before being promoted to divisional vice president of employee relations. She served in that role from 1998 until she was named corporate vice president of human resources in 2000. In 2004, she was promoted to senior vice president. She holds a B.A. in English and a law degree from Indiana University, and a LLM in taxation from DePaul University.

Kroger (Fortune #26) is one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, with fiscal 2007 sales of $70.2 billion. M. Marnette Perry was elected senior vice president in July 2003. She has been with the company since 1972, and has held a variety of positions with the company, including two separate stints as pesident of area marketing, once for Michigan and once for Columbus—the first woman ever to be president of any of Kroger’s marketing divisions in the United States. She was on the list of Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery referenced above. She holds a BA in Education from Ohio State University.

Diane Dietz became Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer of Safeway (Fortune #55) earlier this year. Previously, she had spent 19 years at Procter & Gamble, where she ran one of the company’s largest business units, overseeing all aspects of the brand management, marketing and sourcing for that unit. Ms. Dietz holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Economics from Northern Illinois University.

Larree Renda, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategist and Administrative Officer joined Safeway in 1974 and served as Senior VP from 1994-1999 and as a Vice President from 1991-1994. Ms. Renda is also Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Public Affairs, Reengineering, Retail Operations, Communications, Labor and Government Relations of Genuardi’s Family Markets Inc., a regional division of Safeway Inc. since 2001. Since 1999, she has served as Executive VP of Retail Operations, Human Resources, Public Affairs, Labor and Government Relations, Reengineering and Communications of Safeway Inc.

Melissa C. Plaisance joined Safeway in 1990 and served as Senior VP, Finanace and Public Affairs of Safeway Inc. from 1995 to 2000. She followed that with a stint as Senior Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations before leaving the company to join Del Monte Foods Company in 2004. She returned to Safeway in her current role in October 2004.

Janel Haugarth has been executive vice president, and president and chief operating officer of the Supervalu (Fortune #62) supply chain services since 2006. She is responsible for all aspects of the company’s logistics and supply chain operations and for planning, implementing and guiding its growth. Ms. Haugarth has been with Supervalu for 30 years, becoming the company’s first female regional president in the fall of 2000. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota with a dual major in business administration and accounting. She passed the CPA exam and completed the Advanced Executive Development Program at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Kathleen Kelly comes to her role as Operating Unit Head, Kroger Personal Finance—which is 50% owned by Kroger—following six years as Director of Investor Relations. In her current role, she is responsible for financial services offered through Kroger stores. Ms. Kelly joined Kroger in 1985 as a Cash Management Specialist. She was promoted to Assistant Treasurer in 1990.

Pamela Knous has been the executive vice president and chief financial officer for Supervalu since joining the company in 1997. Prior to that, Ms. Knous was executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of The Vons Companies, Inc. She is a former partner in the Los Angeles office of KPMG Peat Marwick, where she worked for 14 years. She holds a BA in mathematics and a B.S. in business administration from the University of Arizona.

Donna Giordano is the Operating Unit Head of Quality Food Chains, a subsidiary of Kroger, located in Washington State. She holds a BA in Marketing from Metropolitan State College and is a board member of the Western Association of Food Chains. She has been in the supermarket industry since 1972, when she started as a checker at King Soopers. She has held a variety of directorships, and in 1999 was promoted to VP of Sales and Marketing, ascending to President of QFC in November 2002.

To quote Marnette Perry, one of the women featured above,”…women have empowered themselves to be greater risk takers and completely recognize that where they want to go is in their hands.” In this spirit, it’s no surprise that women are rising to the top of this traditionally male-dominated industry—they make most of the food decisions in American families—and that they bring time-saving innovations and marketing savvy to the companies they lead.