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New Seasons Market taps Nancy Lebold as CEO

Former Food 4 Less, WinCo executive to lead West Coast specialty grocer

Russell Redman

April 16, 2021

3 Min Read
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Nancy Lebold takes the CEO reins from Forrest Hoffmaster, who stepped down last month under a new strategic growth plan by parent company Good Food Holdings.New Seasons Market

Nancy Lebold has joined New Seasons Market and its New Leaf Community Markets subsidiary as CEO.

Portland, Ore.-based New Seasons said Lebold started as chief executive yesterday. She comes to the West Coast grocer from The Kroger Co.’s Food 4 Less banner, where she served as vice president of merchandising in California.

Nancy_LeBold-New_Seasons_Market.png“As we emerge from the challenges of the past year, I look forward to bringing a people-centric leadership approach to New Seasons Market and New Leaf Community Markets as we reconnect communities around good food,” Lebold (left) said in a statement. “In close partnership with the current senior leadership teams, I’m committed to creating reinvigorated experiences at both banners that offer staff, customers and the communities we serve more reasons to fall in love with us all over again.”

Lebold takes the CEO reins from Forrest Hoffmaster, who stepped down late last month as part of a new strategic growth plan by parent company Good Food Holdings.

Forrest Hoffmaster-New Seasons Market.jpgNew Seasons had announced in early March that an executive search was under way and a successor would be named before the departure of Hoffmaster (right). He served as New Seasons’ CEO since January 2019, remaining in the post following Good Food’s acquisition of New Seasons in December 2019.

Related:New Seasons Market to discontinue sales of single-use bottled water

Lebold had served as merchandising VP at Food 4 Less in California since September 2019. She came to the value grocery chain after more than 27 years at Boise, Idaho-based WinCo Foods, where she held several leadership roles in the Pacific Northwest, most recently as senior VP of retail operations. Before that, Lebold served as VP of procurement in Idaho and VP of general merchandise in Oregon.

Forrest_Gonsiewski-New_Seasons_Market-New_Leaf_Community_Markets.jpg

Also on Thursday, New Seasons said Forrest Gonsiewski (left), regional vice president, will continue in a senior leadership position overseeing strategic business initiatives for New Leaf as well as New Seasons’ Evergreen store in San Jose, Calif. Gonsiewski has been with New Seasons since 2002, starting as a manager, and then in mid-2014 was promoted to regional operations director for both New Seasons and New Leaf. He was appointed vice president at New Leaf in September 2019.

New Seasons Market operates 19 stores in Oregon, Washington and Northern California, and New Leaf Community Market has five stores in California’s Central Coast region. Primarily serving the Portland and San Francisco Bay markets, New Seasons provides a mix of locally sourced and organic items, grocery favorites and chef-made meal solutions. New Leaf Community Markets specializes in natural and organic food and groceries. Both banners operate independently as certified B Corporations.

Related:Natural retailer New Seasons Market sold to Good Food Holdings

Last month, New Seasons said it plans to open a 27,800-square-foot store in Lake Oswego, Ore., in spring 2022 and a 25,000-square-foot store in Vancouver, Wash., in fall 2023.

Good Food Holdings includes three other food retail chains: Bristol Farms and Lazy Acres Natural Market in Southern California and Metropolitan Market in Seattle. Hypermarket retailer Emart, which operates about 200 stores in South Korea, acquired Good Food Holdings in 2018 and is part of Seoul-based global retailer The Shinsegae Group.

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

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