The USC Marshall School of Business Food Industry Management (FIM) program will honor Mike Stigers as its 2025 Food Industry Executive of the Year.
Each year, the USC Food Industry Executive of the Year award is presented to an executive who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and a strong commitment to education. Stigers is both passionate about education and dedicated to developing the next generation of leaders. As president of Wakefern Food Corp., Stigers will accept the award and serve as the keynote speaker at the April graduation banquet, celebrating the graduating students of the FIM Class of 2025.
Wakefern is the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the U.S. Stigers joined Wakefern as president in June 2023 and brings five decades of food industry knowledge, having begun his career as a part-time courtesy clerk at Safeway in his home state of California.
He has a distinguished track record in both the retail and wholesale sides of the supermarket business, holding executive roles in operations, merchandising, supply chain and fresh foods. He also has experience on the vendor side of the grocery industry, having worked for both a retail automation software company and a food safety company as a regional VP.
“Mike Stigers is both a leader in the food industry and a long-time sponsor of the Food Industry Management Program,” said Dean Geoffrey Garrett. “He inspires future leaders in his organization to complete their educational journey and invests heavily in his people as they grow in their careers. At USC, we are grateful for his support and his dedication to education year after year.”
Stigers has been highly active in industry trade associations. He has served as a board member of the California Grocers Association (CGA), FMI – The Food Industry Association, NACDS and GS1, as well as past president of the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC) and past chair of the National Grocers Association (NGA).
Stigers holds a bachelor’s degree in applied economics from the University of San Francisco and a master’s degree in food industry leadership from the University of Southern California. Today, he serves as an adjunct professor at the USC Marshall School of Business for the Food Industry Management Program. He resides in New Jersey with his wife, Renee.
[RELATED: Stigers Using All Career Experiences To Lead Wakefern Food Corp.]
“The USC Marshall Food Industry Management Program has educated leaders in the food industry for 67 years, and it is only through the passion, drive and purpose of senior leaders like Mike Stigers that we can provide life-changing and transformational journeys for the people who participate in our programs,” said Cynthia McCloud, director of Marshall’s Food Industry Programs.
“In addition to his many duties as president at Wakefern, Mike joins me on campus at USC every Friday during the spring semester to teach leadership. He also sits on the WAFC’s board of directors, helping us drive our mission to fund education and develop future leaders with practical skills and strategic knowledge to compete in a rapidly changing industry. We are grateful for his many contributions and passion for education.”
Stigers shared, “I am incredibly humbled and honored to be recognized as the Food Industry Executive of the Year for the USC Food Industry Management Program of 2025. It has been both an honor and a privilege to serve alongside Dr. Cynthia McCloud these past four years, working with our industry’s students in the USC FIM Program. Our industry will be in very good hands in the future, as many senior leaders are graduates of the USC FIM Program – thanks to the dedication and hard work of the WAFC and its many scholarship donors. Our Wakefern teammates and member companies are proud to be associated with the USC FIM Program and look forward to supporting USC for years to come.”