Big Y Appoints 1st Female SVP
The board of directors of Big Y Foods Inc. named Nicole D’Amour Schneider to the position of SVP of retail operations and customer experience, effective Jan. 21, making her the company’s first female SVP. In her new role, Schneider leads the asset protection and front end operations teams for the chain’s entire retail division, consisting of Big Y Supermarkets, Big Y Express gas and convenience stores, Table & Vine Fine Wines and Liquors, and the Big Y pharmacy and wellness division, developing and driving strategy in each of these areas, with a focus on the growth of store and department leaders, while creating and carrying out plans to boost sales, profits and the customer experience.
“Her experience [and] knowledge of our stores, our teams and our customers, along with her commitment to continuous improvement, make her ideally suited for this newly expanded role,” noted Big Y COO Richard D. Bossie, to whom she reports. “Her efforts have made a tremendous impact on all of us at Big Y.”
[RELATED: “Big Y Purchases 3 More Supermarkets”]
A third-generation member of Big Y’s founding family, Schneider has been VP of supermarket operations since 2019, with responsibilities spanning 72 markets across Massachusetts and Connecticut. She’s also a founding member and on the board of Big Y Women LEAD, an employee resource group focused on inspiring and empowering women to develop their leadership potential. She started working at Big Y as a service clerk in 1989 as a teenager and has worked in all areas of the supermarket, including as a customer service manager and a store director at several stores, before transitioning to corporate roles in employee services and training, customer relationship, and culture and engagement, as well as taking on the role of director of pharmacy.
Other founding family members to be promoted to leadership roles in recent months are Michael D’Amour, recently named president and CEO; Christian D’Amour, appointed district director for 16 stores; and Maggie D’Amour, promoted to the newly created position of senior manager of environmental, social and governance.
Springfield, Mass.-based Big Y Foods is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England. It operates locations throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut, including supermarkets, Table & Vine Fine Wines and Liquors, and Big Y Express gas and convenience locations, with more than 10,000 employees. The company is No. 72 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of North America’s top retailers of food and consumables.
