COVER FEATURE
2018 Top Women in Grocery Tami Tollefson
VP, General Merchandise/ HBC Beauty Care, Albertsons Cos./ Corporate
A guide and mentor to four national sales managers and an assistant national sales manager, Tollefson also played an instrumental role in the successful transition of the cosmetics category from warehouse to DSD. She took the lead role in tracking and recapping all JAG and Monopoly event orders to assist Albertsons’ divisions with their future sales plans. Tollefson created, organized and executed national ads for 2017, supporting nine events that generated $4.4 million in incremental general merchandise and HBC sales — a 25 percent increase — executed across 12 divisions and 2,000 stores.
Michelle Larson
SVP, Merchandising and Marketing, Albertsons Cos./ Southwest Division
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Colleen Wortham
VP, Operations, Albertsons Cos./ Corporate
Wortham took over the ecommerce catalog, building a new team from scratch; within three months, she’d added 1,000-plus images per store, which is projected to drive millions of incremental sales dollars on internal platforms as well as Instacart. She was instrumental in launching a successful Plated Signature Meal Kit pilot program less than 12 weeks from the initial concept. Wortham managed the Albertsons digital communications team that delivered more than 1 billion highly personalized emails and mobile push messages; this resulted in customer engagement rates significantly exceeding industry benchmarks.
Cathy East
VP, Corporate Procurement Meat/ Seafood/Deli, Albertsons Cos./ Supply Chain
For the five-state Southwest division, Larson was instrumental in developing and implementing neighborhood-specific remodel plans for 19 locations, including assortment and unique services that enhance brand image in each market.
East has been the point person in corporate procurement to assist with the store rollout of Plated meal kits, converting them from an ecommerce-only platform to a retail-ready application within 60 days of the acquisition’s close.
She’s a champion of cross-training, mentoring and building up employees so that they can eventually move across departments and up the ladder, developing their technical and leadership skills.
She facilitated the sourcing strategy to leverage internal company resources in distribution, transportation and procurement to achieve significant synergy savings between Albertsons and Plated.
Through innovative and impactful sales promotions, Larson and her team created positive market share growth above industry trends over a 52-week period.
East is also procurement lead for multiple new concept stores for Albertsons, assisting with process evaluation and procurement setup activities as the new stores prepare to open.
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Elana Karp
Culinary CoFounder and Chief Culinary Officer, Albertsons Cos./ Plated
Karp has built the company’s culinary program from the ground up, driving its mission to leverage data and technology to make it easy for people nationwide to cook more at home. In addition to expanding Plated’s recipe and serving-size options, she has been integral to leading culinary development and the Albertsons acquisition of Plated as the kits expand into physical stores; her work has yielded increased sales and greater customer retention. Karp created BAWS (BadAss Women Society) to foster ongoing dialogue about issues affecting women in the workplace, and is a mentor and adviser at food startups incubator Food Future.
Amanda Martinez
Group VP, Corporate Procurement, Albertsons Cos./ Supply Chain
Martinez launched a ground-breaking data visualization program for supply chain at Albertsons with IRI, creating new visibility regarding supply chain information to the vendor community; the platform’s features include a vendor scorecard, purchase order information by distribution center, and demand forecasts. She designed and documented measurable methods for optimizing warehouse operations efficiency by improving buying processes and procedures that contribute to more streamlined practices. Martinez established and leads a cross-functional department task force that reviews all vendor terms proposals and agrees on the right terms for the company.
SENIOR-LEVEL EXECUTIVES
Kelly Mullin
VP, Marketing and Merchandising, Albertsons Cos./ Portland Division
A creative thinker who regularly comes up with outside-of-the-box ideas, Mullin has led numerous successful process improvements, including advertising planning, introduction of a period budget review of advertising spends, and weekly sales meetings. She was instrumental in rolling out Daily Deals, a program that focuses on lowering the price of one traffic-driving item, which resulted in selling 14,000-plus pies in one day. Mullin assembled a winning team through desk-to-desk mentoring strategies and aligning people new to a role with those who have experience; she continues to help many employees grow their careers.
Jenny Marino
Co-Founder and Brand Strategist, Angelic Bakehouse
Since purchasing a small sprouted-grain bakehouse, Marino has advanced the sprouted whole grain bread and baked goods industry through her leadership and ability to turn a pantry staple into something exceptional, nutritious and delicious. She and her husband have steadily grown sales 50 percent year over year based on the belief that their sprouted-grain baked goods are superior in taste and nutrition. Marino has helped expand the bakehouse’s distribution nationwide, including such grocers as Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market, and spearheaded the development of Angelic’s Sprouted 7 Whole Grain Veggie Wraps.