Amazon, Coca-Cola Execs Join GS1 US Board of Governors
GS1 US has named to its board of governors Sam Heyworth, VP, consumables at Amazon; and Brad Spickert, SVP of supply chain at The Coca-Cola Co.’s North America Operating Unit.
Heyworth and Spickert are now part of a cross-industry board representing companies in the apparel, general merchandise, foodservice health care and retail grocery industries. The board guides GS1 US strategy to support adoption, use and evolution of GS1 Standards for retail, e-commerce, supply chain visibility and product traceability.
“Both of these leaders are responsible for helping shape successful business strategies for two of the most prominent companies in the world, and their perspectives will be invaluable to industry modernization efforts,” noted Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of Ewing, N.J.-based GS1 US. “As the world moves deeper into a digital economy, product identification is critical to meeting the evolving needs of industry as well as product search and discovery for consumers. With the support of our board, we can continue our important work to optimize standards adoption.”
Heyworth has responsibility for all of Amazon’s U.S. consumables core categories, including baby care, beauty and grooming, food and beverage, health and personal care, household supplies and Amazon’s consumables private-brand business. He also heads several of the company’s worldwide shopping programs, among them Amazon Family, Baby Registry, Climate Pledge Friendly, SNAP EBT on Amazon, and Subscribe & Save. During his 16 years at Seattle-based Amazon, Heyworth has held a range of business leadership positions in its consumer and digital divisions, with expertise in product development and management, supply chain and operations, merchandising, promotions, replenishment, category leadership, and business strategy.
Spickert leads all aspects of Coca-Cola’s supply chain operations in the United States and Canada. Before that, he was SVP of innovation and commercialization, guiding development and commercialization of all product innovations for North America’s sparkling, still, juice and foodservice businesses. He was also SVP and general manager of the Glacéau/hydration brands (Dasani, Smartwater, Vitaminwater and Powerade).
The board of governors consists of executives from such organizations as Amazon, The Coca-Cola Co., Dot Foods Inc., eBay Inc., Google Store, The J.M. Smucker Co., Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PepsiCo, The Procter & Gamble Co., Publix Inc., PVH Corp., Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Sysco Corp., Target, Topco Associates LLC, Wakefern Food Corp., Walmart and Wegmans Food Markets Inc.
GS1 US, a member of GS1 Global, is a not-for-profit information standards organization that facilitates industry collaboration to help improve supply chain visibility and efficiency through the use of GS1 Standards. Almost 300,000 businesses across 25 industries depend on GS1 US for trading partner collaboration to optimize their supply chains, drive cost performance and revenue growth, and enable regulatory compliance. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code.
Amazon is No. 2 on Progressive Grocer’s 2021 PG 100 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart is No. 1; Minneapolis-based Target is No. 6; Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix is No. 11; Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern is No. 23; and Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans is No. 35.
