Ralph's, P&G Execs to Lead NEW Forum

The Network of Executive Women has named Donna Giordano, president of the Ralphs division of The Kroger Co., and Monica Turner, general manager of market strategy and planning for Procter & Gamble, as co-chairs of the NEW Executive Leaders Forum 2013.

The seventh annual NEW Forum will be held July 23-25 at the Terranea Resort in Los Angeles. More than 250 executives in the consumer products and retail industry are expected to attend the invitation-only event for senior-level women.

"The Network is fortunate to have the input of Donna and Monica as they draw on their life and career experiences to ensure the forum's status as a premier industry event," said forum designer Trudy Bourgeois, founder and president of The Center for Workforce Excellence.

“One of the first female presidents of a grocery banner, Donna Giordano has been a true pioneer. She is a strong and public champion for women and diversity in the industry and is not afraid to push the status quo,” Bourgeois said. “Women like Monica Turner have the skills and traits necessary for the future growth of their organizations and the industry as a whole. Monica is ready and willing to lead with boldness and courage.”

As president of Ralphs, Giordano is responsible for nearly 250 supermarkets in Southern California that employ more than 25,000 associates. Giordano’s retail career began in Denver when she joined Kroger's King Soopers chain in 1972 while earning a bachelor's degree in marketing.

Turner, a NEW board member at-large, joined P&G as a sales representative in 1987 after serving as a summer intern. In her current role, she leads P&G's U.S. market strategy and planning organization in North America, a unit with more than 400 employees and an annual budget of $80 million.

The Network of Executive Women is the consumer products and retail industry's largest diversity organization, with more than 7,000 members representing 700 industry companies.