Top Women in Grocery Shine in Orlando
More than 200 of Progressive Grocer’s 2015 Top Women in Grocery honorees flocked to Orlando, Fla., to relish their accomplishments at a world-class resort before a contingent of more than 450 industry luminaries, special guests and family members.
The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress served as the ideal setting to celebrate the ninth year of the leading industry awards program. Event hosts Jeff Friedman and Meg Major presided at the daylong gathering, highlights of which were a dedicated daytime learning platform and gala evening dinner program for Top Women in Grocery attendees.
Meg Ham, president of Food Lion, accepted the 2015 Top Women in Grocery Trailblazer Award, which recognizes a single executive whose leadership, vision and influence have helped break new ground for women in the retail food industry. Another event highlight was the first-ever Top Women in Grocery Torchbearer Tribute, presented to P&G’s Always brand for its powerful #LikeAGirl multimedia campaign.
For the third year, Top Women in Grocery’s confab featured a daytime leadership development program, which began with a welcome breakfast. An energizing keynote by Deanie Elsner, president of U.S. snacks at Kellogg Co., set the tone for the daytime program, which continued with a Tips from the Top panel discussion featuring a brain trust of some of the retail food industry’s most accomplished and respected women leaders.
After lunch, Nancy Krawczyk and Eileen Tarjan, both of the Network of Executive Women (NEW), led a strategic networking primer session, which was followed by concurrent peer circle breakout discussion groups led by a contingent of women leaders from across the food industry, including Becky Estby, VP, Coborn’s Inc.; Lois M. Fruhwirth, Procter & Gamble NA Grocery Channel; Jewel Hunt, Albertsons/Safeway; NEW’s Krawczyk and Tarjan; Michele Murphy, Supervalu; and Rachel Rogers, The Hershey Co.
The celebration concluded with an after-dinner dessert and dance party, courtesy of The Hershey Co.
Other key sponsors of the event were as follows:
- KraftHeinz, Platinum
- PepsiCo, Gold
- Procter & Gamble, Gold
- The Hershey Co., After-Party Sponsor
- E&J Gallo, Exclusive, Wine
- Post Consumer Brands, Breakfast Sponsor
- The Coca-Cola Co., Break Sponsor
- Belles Organic, Bronze Sponsor
- Domino Sugar, Bronze Sponsor
- Unata, WiFi Sponsor
- Kellogg Co., Table Sponsor
- Catalina, Table Sponsor
- Ferrero USA, Table Sponsor
- Anheuser-Busch, Table Sponsor
- American Greetings, Table Sponsor
- The Clorox Co., Table Sponsor
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
For the third year, Top Women in Grocery’s annual confab featured a daytime leadership development program designed to foster and enhance the success and professional development of its honored guests.
P&G INNOVATION STUDIO & DAYTIME BREAKS
P&G’s Innovation Studio enabled attendees to enjoy complimentary beauty treatments, while honored guests networked at refreshment breaks during the daytime leadership development program.
NETWORKING RECEPTION
Evening festivities kicked off with a cocktail reception, where guests networked and mingled prior to the gala dinner awards presentation. Plans are already underway for 2016’s Top Women in Grocery event, which will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the industry’s leading women’s recognition platform.
GALA AWARDS CEREMONY
A highlight of the gala was the presentation of the 2015 Top Women in Grocery Trailblazer Award to Food Lion President Meg Ham. Below, from left, are NEW’s Nancy Krawczyk, PG’s Meg Major, Ham and PepsiCo’s Deanna Jurgens.