Sponsored By

C&S Wholesale, SpartanNash CEOs among FMI’s new board members

Sprouts, The Fresh Market join supermarket and food industry trade group

Russell Redman

November 17, 2020

2 Min Read
FMI-Food_Industry_Association_sign.png
In an FMI virtual board meeting, C&S Wholesale Grocers CEO Bob Palmer and SpartanNash President and CEO Tony Sarsam were appointed as new wholesale members.FMI-The Food Industry Association

FMI -The Food Industry Association has named five new grocery retailer and wholesaler executives and two manufacturer executives to its board of directors.

In a virtual board meeting yesterday, C&S Wholesale Grocers CEO Bob Palmer and SpartanNash President and CEO Tony Sarsam were appointed as new wholesale members. Both were recently named as the chief executives at their respective distribution companies, with Palmer taking the reins in October and Sarsam assuming his new post in September.

Joining the FMI board from the retail side were John Laney, senior vice president and  general merchandise manager for packaged goods at Walmart; Lisa Roath, senior vice president of merchandising for food and beverage at Target; and Tim Devanney, co-president of Connecticut grocer Highland Park Market.

FMI also announced Shane Grant, executive vice president and CEO at Danone North America, and Tony Gavin, executive vice president at Bimbo Bakeries USA as new product supplier board members, of which the association tallied 13 in 2020.

The FMI board is chaired by Randy Edeker, chairman, president and CEO of Hy-Vee.

“I am grateful for the imaginative leadership, the courageous perseverance and the care our companies have displayed throughout this national crisis,” FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin said in a statement. “Over the last eight months, our board leaders have had an opportunity to convene for productive, non-competitive dialogue on everything from public policy matters to food and product safety concerns, and of course supply chain issues  ultimately keeping this nation fed and cared for during these demanding times.”

This year also has seen FMI recruit 12 new retail members to the association. In her president’s report to the board, Sarasin noted that FMI continues to re-evaluate member expectations and how industry participants want to engage with the association, in line with its mission to “advocate, collaborate and educate” and support the food industry’s efforts to “feed families and enrich lives.”

Related:FMI honors grocery retailers with 2020 Community Outreach awards

New retail members include Bodega Latina, Cantoro Italian Market, Dom’s Kitchen and Market, Fresh Farms Market, Good Ranchers, Jackson Mitchell Holdings, Plum Market, Ranchr, Salt & Light, Sprouts Farmers Market, The Fresh Market and Zupan’s Markets. 

In recent months, companies have joined FMI as new product supplier members include Anheuser-Busch, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Campbell Soup, Kimberly-Clark, Mondelez International, Nestlé USA, PepsiCo, Pictsweet, Coca-Cola, J.M. Smucker, Treehouse Foods, Unilever and Danone North America.

Related:FMI helps consumers understand rising grocery prices amid pandemic

Read more about:

Sprouts Farmers Market

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like