The Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC) has elected three industry leaders – Sean Heryet, Chris Hooks and Kelly Mullin – to serve on its board of directors.
“We are thrilled and incredibly honored to have this group of extraordinary industry leaders join the WAFC board of directors,” said Nancy Lebold, CEO of New Seasons Markets and president of the WAFC.
“They have shown tremendous dedication to the success of the industry overall and are proven servant leaders who will be instrumental in helping us achieve continued success.”
Sean Heryet
Heryet, VP of merchandising and marketing for the intermountain division of Albertsons Cos., began his grocery career in 1997 as a courtesy clerk in Las Vegas with the company.
In 2009, he completed the WAFC Retail Management Certificate. In 2018, he finished the Food Industry Management program at the University of Southern California. He has held his current role since December.
Chris Hooks
As the chief merchandising and marketing officer for The Save Mart Companies, Hooks oversees all aspects of merchandising, marketing, space planning and “Our Brands” private label strategies and execution.
He has more than 25 years of food industrey experience spanning conventional grocery, discount retailing and private label at leading companies.
His prior responsibilities included EVP and CMO of Save A Lot, SVP of consumable merchandising at Family Dollar and EVP at Topco Associates for center store, fresh, strategic sourcing, supply chain, marketing and brand development.
Prior to joining Topco, Hooks spent 11 years at H-E-B in merchandising, marketing and store operations.
Kelly Mullin
A leader in turnaround and growth situations, Mullin has been with Albertsons Cos. for more than 29 years.
Prior to being promoted to Division President of Portland in March 2023, Mullin was SVP of marketing and merchandising in the Northern California division for two and a half years and VP of marketing and merchandising in Portland for three and a half years. She has held a variety of roles in its Southern California division.
Through each step in her career, she has grown sales, increased customer count, improved processes and developed teams that produced results.
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