SpartanNash Appoints VP, Associate General Counsel & Compliance Officer
Food solutions company SpartanNash has promoted Kristen Porter to VP, associate general counsel and compliance officer. Porter will oversee the company's compliance efforts, including the company's food safety team. Additionally, she will continue to manage the work of the licensing team.
Porter joined SpartanNash in March 2022 as director and assistant general counsel and was promoted to senior director, assistant general counsel and compliance officer in March 2023. Since joining the company, she has supported the consumables, licensing, pharmacy, merchandising, retail and communications functions, and provided legal advice and counsel on a variety of legal and regulatory areas.
In her new role as compliance officer, Porter will lead the continued design, development and implementation of SpartanNash’s compliance structure and governance, working with leaders throughout the organization to drive accountability and compliance. Porter will provide regular reporting on the status of the company's compliance program to the board of directors' audit committee.
"As a food solutions company, SpartanNash is committed to doing the right thing for our associates, shoppers and independent customers – and to safeguarding the interests of our stakeholders," said EVP, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary Ileana McAlary. "The creation of a centralized compliance structure to oversee the company's compliance program is a priority for the company's executive leadership team and our board of directors, and Kristen's experience and leadership will help teams drive innovation, engage in ethical decision-making, and build a more sustainable and compliant business."
With more than 20 years of legal experience in public policy and regulatory compliance, risk management, information technology, and litigation, Porter previously worked at GHSP, a manufacturer in Holland, Mich., where she was general counsel and corporate compliance officer. Porter earned her doctor of jurisprudence degree from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, in Minnesota.
With 17,000 associates, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based SpartanNash operates two complementary business segments: food wholesale and grocery retail. Its global supply chain network serves wholesale customers that include independent and chain grocers, national retail brands, e-commerce platforms, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges. On the retail side, SpartanNash operates 147 brick-and-mortar grocery stores, primarily under the banners of Family Fare, Martin's Super Markets, and D&W Fresh Market, in addition to dozens of pharmacies and fuel centers. The company is No. 45 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. SpartanNash is also among PG’s 2024 10 Most Sustainable Grocers.
