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FMI Midwinter Executive Conference

Edeker hails Hy-Vee’s obsession with change

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.

FMI represents all four corners of store

FMI represents all four corners of store

As noted elsewhere in this issue, artificial intelligence was front and center at last month’s FMI Midwinter Executive Conference. Anyone who only saw some of the keynote presentations at the event might have come to the conclusion that technology is crowding out other important priorities. Nothing could be further from the truth. In a conversation

FMI Midwinter offers chance to return home with fresh ideas

Food retail industry leaders are preparing for business meetings and conversations at the upcoming FMI Midwinter Executive Conference, which brings leaders together from across the supply chain to tackle what’s next in food. FMI Midwinter provides an opportunity to reflect on how our industry has changed radically in the past two decades. Through it all,

Academy event grooms future grocery leaders

While leaders of the supermarket industry convened in Orlando for the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference, standout performers from the next generation were sharpening their skills at an event sponsored by the Academy of Food Marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Organized by Joe Bivona, the academy’s executive director, the inaugural Rising Stars training program

FMI presents Executive Leadership Awards

FMI presents Executive Leadership Awards

ARLINGTON, Va. – FMI, the Food Industry Association, presented its annual Executive Leadership Awards on Tuesday, honoring Neal Berube, Jonathan Mayes, Steve Cahillane, Mike Stone, Todd Schnuck and Norman Mayne. Throughout the past year, these six executives displayed masterful leadership in overcoming challenges of the rapidly evolving food industry, FMI said. The 2022 awards were

FMI Midwinter Executive Conference rescheduled

FMI Midwinter Executive Conference rescheduled

ARLINGTON – FMI, The Food Industry Association, has rescheduled its signature Midwinter Executive Conference, after pausing to consider the heightened challenges associated with the Omicron variant. FMI Midwinter is now set to take place in-person from March 28 to March 31 at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla. “While we paused our Midwinter event plans

FMI’s Sarasin on crafting the ‘next normal’

FMI’s Sarasin on crafting the ‘next normal’

WASHINGTON — Thomas Wolff famously wrote “you can’t go home again,” and FMI president and chief executive officer Leslie Sarasin said Tuesday that food retailers will face a similar reality when the COVID-19 pandemic finally ends. “There simply is no going back to the normal we knew before the pandemic,” she said. “We’ve changed, the

Grocers turn bullish

MIAMI — It has been 10 years since Leslie Sarasin became president and chief executive officer of the Food Marketing Institute, and during her tenure  the level of confidence among the association’s members has never been higher. Speaking at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference late last month, she cited the newfound assurance among supermarket operators

FMI honors supermarket industry leaders

FMI honors supermarket industry leaders

 MIAMI — Hy-Vee’s Randy Edeker, Coca-Cola Co.’s Muhtar Kent, Heinen’s Grocery Stores’s Tom Heinen and IGA Inc.’s Mark Batenic were among the executives recognized Saturday when the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) gave out its leadership awards. The 2019 award recipients were honored for trading partner excellence, innovative business practices, service and statesmanship, according to FMI, which presented

Time for supermarkets to take action

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — If the operators of traditional supermarkets intend to command as prominent a position on the retailing scene of the future as they do today, they must act audaciously to fend off competition from a growing range of sources, in particular e-commerce, and stay in sync with the changing expectations of consumers. Driven

Grocers’ challenge in health, wellness

Grocers’ challenge in health, wellness

During wide-ranging remarks at the recent FMI Midwinter Executive Conference, Leslie Sarasin reiterated an important point about the nation’s supermarkets — the stores are ideally positioned to play a dominant role in meeting consumer demand for products and services that support health and wellness. The Food Marketing Institute’s president and chief executive officer talked about

Supers enter new era

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — If the activity at last month’s FMI Midwinter Executive Conference is a true indication, the nation’s supermarket retailers, a group that has traditionally adhered to a conservative business model, are gearing up to reshape the way they meet the needs of consumers. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of change in our industry