Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. has hired J. Scott Neal as chief fresh merchandising officer, effective June 15. Neal will report directly to Sprouts CEO Jack Sinclair and will oversee Sprouts’ fresh merchandise offerings.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Scott to the Sprouts team,” Sinclair said. “Scott joins us at the perfect time to leverage his deep experience in fresh merchandising and sourcing as we begin to implement our long-term growth strategy, by creating an advantaged fresh supply chain to bring better-for-you options and innovative products to support our customers’ healthy lifestyles.”
Neal brings more than 25 years of retail experience to Sprouts, which were largely focused on fresh food merchandising.
For the past eight years, he has served as SVP and general merchandise manager for the fresh food division of Walmart U.S., where he oversaw quality control and merchandising of produce, meat and seafood. Neal served Walmart for over 24 years, including: VP – divisional merchandising manager of the meat division, 2009-11; VP – divisional merchandising manager of the commercial bread and bakery divisions, 2007-09; and VP of international merchandising from 2000-07.
Neal also has served as a member of the board of directors of Feeding America since 2016.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University.
“I am excited to join Sprouts at this pivotal time in its growth trajectory,” Neal said. “It is more important than ever that our customers have access to fresh, healthy food to feed their families, and I look forward to joining Jack and the Sprouts leadership team to advance the company’s long-term vision of building a brand that is good for you, good for your family and good for the planet.”
Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Sprouts employs more than 35,000 team members and operates over 340 stores in 23 states from coast to coast.
