Grocers are rapidly adapting to the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dramatic changes including hoarding, limited stocks, social distancing in retail and communities in lockdown require an immediate change in how grocers operate, both in-store and online. Health and safety have always been a priority for grocers but COVID-19 has made staffing and supply-chain management increasingly difficult. How are grocery stores dealing with the crisis?
Find out from industry leaders how they are guiding their businesses through daily changes presented by the virus regarding their customers and employees and suppliers.
Come away from this webinar with information to help you understand what others, who are sharing similar experiences are doing and how to think about expected uncertainty in the weeks and months ahead.
Webinar: Thursday, March 26th @ 2 PM EDT
Brian Moyer – Freshop, Chief Executive Officer
Ted Balistreri – Sendik’s Food Market, Family Co-Owner
David Smith – Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., President & Chief Executive Officer
Mike Troy (Moderator) – Progressive Grocer & Retail Leader, Editorial Director
Speaker Bios:
Brian Moyer
Brian Moyer, CEO of Freshop began his IT career as an Intelligence Analyst and Computer Scientist with the National Security Agency (NSA). If that’s not enough to grab your attention, consider his most recent success as co-founder and CEO of Freshop. Since 2014, Freshop’s web platform has helped grocers get online and grow their business. With over $100m in transactions on the platform last year, Freshop is full-digital engagement for grocers. Brian has gone to great lengths to understand the technological intricacies of grocery and believes that customer relationships are the priority. Brian is also honored to serve on the National Grocers Association Board of Directors.
Ted Balistreri
Ted co-owns the 17-store Sendik’s Food Market operation with his two brothers and sister. The business was started by Ted’s grandfather in 1926 and has a reputation for high quality products and exceptional customer service.
In addition to owning and operating Sendik’s, Ted serves on several charitable, civic and industry boards. He recently completed a nine-year term with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin of which he served two years as the Board Chair. He continues in service to that organization as a member of the Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin Foundation Board. Ted also serves as a member of the Concordia University Foundation Board.
Civically, Ted currently serves as a member of the Board of the Business Improvement District for the Village of Whitefish Bay. He has also served as a member of the Community Develop Authority in Whitefish Bay.
Representing the independent grocery industry, Ted is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Grocers Association serving as the organization’s Vice Chairman. Additionally, he serves as the Board Chair of the Department of Research and Education, an industry group.
A Wisconsin native, Ted received a Juris Doctorate from Marquette University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
David Smith
David Smith is President and CEO of Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., a role he assumed in August 2015. Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the largest cooperative food wholesaler in America supplying and supporting independently owned supermarkets with food and related products, serving more than 3,000 retail locations in 28 states from 8 full-line wholesale divisions and a wide variety of non-food, general merchandise, pharmaceutical drugs, as well as natural, organic, ethnic and specialty products from its subsidiary operation – Valu Merchandisers Company. Throughout his career, David has been focused solely on the development and continuing success of independent supermarket operators and he is in his 30th year of service on the wholesale side. During his time with AWG, he has been blessed to see the cooperative and membership grow from a Midwest company with 1,200 stores and 3 Divisions with sales of $3.2B to a sprawling central US company with sales exceeding $9B. He started his career with AWG in 2003, where he served in Division and Corporate positions as the Director of Real Estate, Director of Member Services and Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing. David was selected as Senior Vice President and Division Manager to lead the site selection, development, and start-up of AWG’s newest division, Gulf Coast, in 2012. In 2014, David assumed the role of EVP of Operations / Chief Operating Officer and was elected by the AWG board to his current role in August 2015. Prior to AWG, David grew up in the retail side of the grocery business in a family-owned independent multi-store operation working in every conceivable job from bottle boy and bag boy as a teenager, up to President, CEO and principal owner of the business at 26 years of age. Following the sale of his company, he worked in various management and leadership roles for regional wholesaler Malone and Hyde and later for Fleming Companies, Inc.
