Gathering Wisdom
In need of a little year-end inspiration? You’ve come to the right place. Our 2013 Top Women in Grocery honorees shared some incredibly inspiring things at our spectacular gala awards celebration last month.
Having evolved from a dinner-only function to an expanded learning and networking experience, this year’s Top Women in Grocery gathering broke new ground on many fronts to culminate in record-breaking attendance, enhanced interaction, and exponentially increased ROI for our honored guests.
But by far, the best thing was the palpable buzz and abundance of gratitude, not only for our honorees, but also for our presenter lineup, which featured some the industry’s most admired female leaders, including Larree Renda, EVP, Safeway Inc.; Judy Spires, president and CEO, Kings Food Markets; Te Kroger Co. Group VP of Corporate Affairs Lynn Marmer; Michele G Buck, president, North America, Te Hershey Co.; Jane Novak-Cook, VP, Procter & Gamble/food channel customer business development; Jan DeLyser, VP of marketing, California Avocado Commission; and association chiefs Leslie G. Sarasin of FMI, and the Network of Executive Women’s (NEW) Joan Toth.
By the time Renda — who was honored with the prestigious PG/NEW Trailblazer Award — concluded her riveting keynote remarks, the question that seemed to be on everyone’s mind while pouring into the Hershey’s after-dinner party was “How can we take what we’ve learned and use it to do more?”
Much like the heightened expectations many companies in the food industry are determinedly pursuing to advance women in a previously impassable male-dominated landscape, the bar is now set equally high to perpetuate our premiere awards program with representatives from every company in the supermarket sector. We’ll soon begin accepting nominations for our 2014 program, and hope to see an ever-stronger field of candidates emerge from all walks of the industry in all award classes across the board. We’ll showcase complete coverage of our recent soiree in the January print edition, along with companion multimedia content on our website, so stay tuned for all the above.
In the interim, I’ll leave you with some of the most inspiring quotes from a handful of our 2013 “Wonder Women,” whom we asked to give us one piece of advice they would tell their younger selves:
“Build relationships so you gain exposure and connections in your career. It’s not enough just to put your head down and work hard. That’s a given.”
—Subriana Pierce, Managing Partner, Navigator Sales & Marketing
“Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks and step out of your comfort zone. Growth comes from uncomfortable places. The biggest risks have the potential to create the most incredible outcomes.”
Melissa Oesterreich, VP Client Service, Advantage Sales and Marketing
“Don’t feel guilty when you are working that you are not with your kids, and don’t feel guilty when you are with your kids that you are not working. Give 100 percent of you to the moment you are experiencing now. By the way, invest in a startup named Google.”
—Bettina Hall, Grocery Sales Promoter, The Kroger Co.
“Learn to accept the fact that some people are never going to be for you. Still, treat them with respect, but you do not need their approval to fulfill your destiny.”
—Tammy K. Outlaw, Store Manager, Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie, Store #110, Leesburg, Ga.
“Instead of focusing on whether everyone likes you, focus on doing the right thing in the right way. If you make good decisions in an ethical manner, others will trust and respect you — a worthier goal than being liked.”
—Martha Sarra, VP and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, The Kroger Co.
“Set goals. Stay focused. Achieve as many goals as possible. Then make new goals. Mistakes will happen. Pick yourself up and keep moving forward.”
—Gloria Bray, POS Auditor/Trainer, Gerland Corp.
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Never assume that someone has already thought about what you are thinking of.”
—Diane Colgan, VP, Sales & Marketing, Tops Marketing LLC
“It’s important to build relationships at all levels. It is an investment in yourself and others, which builds trust and creates the foundation necessary to lead sustainable organizational change, which is constantly needed in order to remain competitive.”
—Erin Sharp, Group VP, Manufacturing, The Kroger Co.
Learnings from our Top Women in Grocery go well beyond the educational workshops at PG’s recent event.