FMI – the Food Industry Association has recognized six individuals for its annual Executive Leadership Awards. Throughout the past year, these executives displayed leadership in overcoming challenges of the food industry.
The 2022 awards were presented at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference Awards luncheon in Orlando, Florida.
“From inflation and supply chain challenges to federal mandates and COVID-cautious consumers, food industry executives had the responsibility to navigate a barrage of new and complex issues throughout the last 24 months,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO. “Their forward-thinking solutions and refined expertise were crucial drivers of the industry’s resilience through turbulent times.”
Separate and apart from the 2022 awardees, Sarasin offered a special tribute to the industry and its stewardship through the pandemic, acknowledging the entire industry with the FMI 2021 Esther Peterson Award. The award recognizes a lifetime of dedicated service and extraordinary contributions to consumers.
“Esther Peterson once said, ‘I want people to believe. I want them to care. I want them to be curious. I want them to look at injustice and ask, What can I do about that? I want them to know that they can certainly make a difference.’ Our industry went above and beyond to serve the consumer during its darkest hours,” Sarasin said.
FMI recognized the following six award recipients who have made impactful contributions to the food industry:
Herbert Hoover Award for Humanitarian Service
Awarded to Neal Berube, president and CEO of Associated Food Stores Inc. (retired)
Herbert Hoover demonstrated the immense power the food industry wields in uplifting those in need. During WWI, Hoover’s Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) fed more than 10,000 civilians in an active war zone for five years. This spirit of public service is reflective of Berube’s career. He continued to volunteer outside his day job, serving on the boards for Intermountain Healthcare and McKay Dee Hospital in Utah. Berube also serves as the mayor of North Ogden City, Utah, where he pursues positive, community-based solutions to local problems and encourages informed civic engagement from all his constituents.
Esther Peterson Award for Customer Service
Awarded to Jonathan Mayes, SVP and external affairs and chief diversity officer of Albertsons Companies (retired)
Following in the footsteps of civil and workers’ rights advocate Esther Peterson, Mayes advanced the interests of the supermarket industry and local communities through his service over the past 31 years, serving on various boards as chairman. Mayes began his supermarket career in 1991 at Lucky Stores and worked in various roles at Safeway and Albertsons Companies. In 2017, Mayes was named chief diversity and inclusion officer at Albertsons Companies. He has received awards for his work, being twice named one of the “Top 100 Chief Diversity Officers in the U.S.”
William H. Albers Industry Relations Award
Awarded to Steve Cahillane, chairman and CEO of Kellogg Company
Much like William H. Albers, Cahillane is an industry leader with expertise in food retail management. Since joining Kellogg Company in 2017, he has been instrumental in aligning the company’s growth with its vision of a good and just world. As a global food leader, Cahillane actively fosters constructive communication and collaboration between food and beverage companies by serving in leadership roles across industry trade groups with both domestic and international priorities. He is a supporter of sustainable brands; Cahillane and his snacks, frozen and cereal company have made significant social and environmental commitments as part of the company’s Better Days ESG strategy to strive for sustainable and equitable access to food for all.
Robert B. Wegman Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Awarded to Mike Stone, president and CEO of Mollie Stone’s Markets
Stone implemented a community-first approach to his San Francisco Bay Area-based company. By partnering with local farms and artisan brands, Mollie Stone’s uplifts its local economy while guaranteeing fresh, healthy and affordable products to its customers. Stone donated needed resources to hospitals, food banks, schools, first responders and various non-profits, such as financial support, PPE, food, volunteers and customer match programs.
Glen P. Woodard Jr. Award for Public Affairs
Awarded to Todd Schnuck, chairman and CEO of Schnuck Markets Inc.
As CEO of the company, Schnuck has devoted himself and the business to nourishing people’s lives, not just by helping them feed their families but also by making a measurable impact in their communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Schnucks responded with $200,000 worth of gift cards made available to Schnucks’ teammates to use at local restaurants. This stimulus allowed local restaurants to cover their losses. During Black History Month, stores offered customers the opportunity to donate to the Urban League through the grocery chain’s Round Up at the Register program. Schnuck plays an active role in the association, serving on the FMI Board, multiple board-level committees and as past chairman of FMI’s Public Affairs Committee.
Sidney R. Rabb Award
Awarded to Norman Mayne, CEO of Dorothy Lane Market Inc.
Mayne grew up working alongside his father, Calvin Mayne, who started the family business as a fruit stand in 1948. Dorothy Lane Market’s success as a three-store independent operator with 1,000 valued employees is a testament to Mayne’s innovative spirit. As CEO, he led the charge to create Club DLM in 1995, the store’s loyalty program that, at the time, only a handful of retailers were doing. His strategy of establishing tiers of shopper loyalty and rewarding customers pursuant to their respective tier has drawn praise from food retailers. Mayne has served on the FMI Board of Directors since 1995 and was recognized with the 2013 FMI Robert B. Wegman Award.
For more information about the FMI awards and their recipients, visit fmi.org.
For more news on FMI from The Shelby Report, click here.
