MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — After more than a decade of leadership, Randy Edeker, executive chairman of Hy-Vee’s board of directors, believes that a chief executive officer should be a driver of change. Since taking the reins in 2012, Edeker has been the catalyst in equipping the supermarket chain to continuously adapt to a dynamic market. On August 1, he will pass the torch to Jeremy Gosch, who succeeded him as CEO 14 months ago.

“We obsess about constant evolution, changing and adapting — we live that every single day,” he said during an interview at the recent FMI Midwinter Executive Conference. “The thing that I’m the most proud of is how we’ve evolved Hy-Vee to be a company that always has its eye on innovation, really weighing out what we should do next to try and find the right thing.

“On many occasions everybody told me, ‘You can’t do that.’ I responded by asking a simple question, ‘But what if you could do that?’ That’s what’s driven us. Jeremy has adopted that attitude, and he understands it.”

Hy-Vee made great strides since Edeker succeeded Ric Jurgens as chairman and CEO. The company not only strengthened its position in the supermarket business but extended its reach in health and wellness, enhanced its dietitian program, and developed Fast & Fresh, a convenience store format that focuses on mealtime-to-go options. In addition, Edeker’s leadership was pivotal during the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the COVID pandemic, when he served a three-year term as chairman of FMI – The Food Industry Association.

“I learned as a store director to be aggressive, stay focused,” he said. “Everything’s possible if you determine it to be possible. You just have to have the drive to see it through.

“Change is hard for everybody. I’ve learned how to do it wrong, and I’ve learned how to do it right. [Former PepsiCo CEO] Indra Nooyi told me years ago that she drove the ocean liner like a speedboat, and people flopped from side to side. I’m 100% guilty of that. So I’ve learned over time how to infuse change into the culture, and I think that we’re pretty good at it now.”

Gosch has picked up the mantle. The fifth CEO in Hy-Vee’s 95-year history, Gosch, who credits Edeker with mentoring him as he rose through the ranks at the company, vows to maintain a future-oriented approach to the business.

“Since our start in 1930, we take pride in trying to stay ahead of our customers and constantly study how their lifestyles are changing,” he said. “Randy’s really pushed us as the pace of change has accelerated. The autonomy that our store managers have helps us be more agile and provides us with the ability to move quickly. We aren’t afraid to try new ideas and do things differently.”

In the short term, Gosch intends to build on the progress that Hy-Vee has made in recent years. One point of emphasis is health and wellness.

“We’ve got a really good grasp of that area with our pharmacy, and now we’ve launched our infusion clinics and are working on primary care,” he said. “Food as medicine is a big piece for us. We signed a partnership with Soda Health and are really working on other partnerships to help customers live a healthier life through both food and medicine.”

In the weeks surrounding the FMI Midwinter conference, Hy-Vee teamed up with Soda Health to offer a Smart Benefits program that enables Medicare, Medicaid and other insured shoppers to use their coverage for healthy food, nutrition counseling and medications. Hy-Vee subsequently took an ownership stake in Exemplar Care, a deal that marks the retailer’s entry into primary and urgent care.

“As we move forward, RedMedia is a another big bet for us,” Gosch said. “We’re continuing to work on having a point of difference and competitive advantage with our retail media network, one that gives our suppliers and brand partners better engagement and a better return on investment.

“You’ll see us continue to work on our growth strategy. We’re focused on moving into markets like Nashville, Indianapolis and the Southeast. Another goal is to become faster and more efficient for our customers through e-commerce. For us, geographical expansion drives e-commerce, which in turn drives retail media. All of it is intertwined.”

Hy-Vee, an employee-owned company with more than 550 locations across eight Midwestern states, has a decentralized operating model that grants a good deal of autonomy to store managers. The structure does, however,  add another layer of complexity for Gosch and his colleagues at headquarters.

“Our store directors are very results driven, so when we show them a business case for what we’re working on, they’re normally 100% behind it and really help us drive it forward,” he said.

Gosch, who spends at least part of his time in the stores every week, added that Hy-Vee’s “retail immersions,” which were instituted last year, further cement the bond between employees in the stores and those at headquarters.

“I try to spend time with our people, because they are the lifeblood of our company as we continue to move forward,” he said. “The better connection we have to customers, the better off we’re going to be. Retail immersions take our corporate office staff and put them in the stores doing the jobs that they influence, so they can see how their decisions affect both customers and employees. That’s really a point of difference for us.

“It’s a game changer because it keeps us close to the customer and our frontline employees. As Randy says, everything’s centered around the customer. It begins and ends there. It always has and it always will.”