Dive Brief:
- ShopRite Supermarkets, Inc. (SRS) has named Brett Wing as new president of the company, succeeding Dave Figurelli, who retired from the position after 15 years, according to Progressive Grocer.
- Wing has been in grocery for nearly 40 years, starting his career as a bagger at Safeway. He later rose through the executive ranks at FoodMaxx and Cub Foods before joining SRS in 2015 as executive vice president.
- Throughout his career, Wing has created next-gen store formats, worked to improve customer experiences and led store expansions.
Dive Insight:
The rise of Brett Wing from bag boy to president of ShopRite Supermarkets, one of the largest Northeast grocery chains, sounds like something out of a movie.
Experience like that often can’t be taught in school. Wing understands the workers’ point of view and knows what it takes to keep employees happy. During his time with FoodMaxx and Cub Foods, he was a known advocate for the workforce. His relationships with all levels of the grocery retail space have helped him succeed.
There have been plenty of rags to riches stories of business leaders who have started at the bottom of a company’s food chain, including George Bodenheimer (former mailroom clerk who rose to president at ESPN); John Borghetti (mail clerk at Qantas Airlines who became CEO of its chief competitor, Virgin Airlines Australia); and Jim Skinner (former manager trainee who became CEO of McDonald's).
Many business analysts have gone on record saying that those who have started with low positions are more in-tune with the company and its culture, and therefore have better chance for success at the top. It will be interesting to see how Wing's extensive grocery history will serve him as president of ShopRite.