ARIZONA COMPANIES
LARGEST EMPLOYERS, RANKED BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
Top 10 BANNER HEALTH 1441 N. 12th St., Phoenix, 85006 // 602-747-4000 // bannerhealth. com FOUNDED 1999 EMPLOYEES 38,527 AZ PRINCIPAL Peter S. Fine, CEO HIGHESTRANKING WOMAN Rebecca Kuhn, executive vice president community delivery; Kathy Bollinger, executive vice president, academic delivery WALMART STORES INC. 4721 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix, 85008 // 479-273-4000 // walmart. com FOUNDED 1962 EMPLOYEES 32,000 AZ PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Paula Ginnett, vice president and regional general manager KROGER CO. (FRY’S FOOD STORES) 500 S. 99th Ave., Tolleson, 85353 // 623-936-2100 // frysfood. com FOUNDED 1960 EMPLOYEES 16,856 AZ PRINCIPAL Steve McKinney, president HIGHESTRANKING WOMAN Monica Garnes, vice president of merchandising WELLS FARGO & CO. 100 W. Washington St., Phoenix, 85003 // 800-869-3557 // wellsfargo. com FOUNDED 1852 EMPLOYEES 14,613 AZ PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Pamela Conboy, lead regional president
ONE JOB, MANY ROLES
MONICA GARNES VICE PRESIDENT OF MERCHANDISING BY GEORGANN YARA
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If variety is the spice of life, Monica Garnes has enjoyed a zestful and palate-pleasing career with one company. The vice president of merchandising for Fry’s Food Stores credits her employer with the opportunities to experience different jobs without leaving. Garnes entered the management-training program at Fry’s parent company, The Kroger Co., 20 years ago. As she moved up the ranks, Garnes held the positions of store manager, human resources coordinator, buyer, public relations manager, district manager and produce merchandiser. “The unique opportunity here is that you can do a wide variety of roles,” Garnes says. “All those experiences positioned me to be ready when opportunities came about.” But the road wasn’t without occasional bumps. Early on, Garnes found herself working alongside colleagues with 20 years of experience. Her confidence pulled her through, as did “having the work ethic to prove to that person I was a valuable team member.” In the male-dominated field of produce buying, Garnes interacted with suppliers who weren’t used to working with women buyers, and she broke down those barriers. “It’s about proving that I deserved to be in that role,” she says. “There were times you really had to prove [women] deserve our seat at the table.” The youngest of three children,
Garnes’ father retired from Mars, Inc., and her mother from Bath & Body Works. She always wanted be an accountant and pursued a business management degree at the University of Rhode Island. After graduating, she returned home and joined Kroger, where she and her parents shopped as she was growing up. Garnes’ current position brought her to Arizona in 2013, which marked the first time she had moved away from her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, since college. When the opportunity to relocate to Phoenix and take the promotion arose, Garnes felt conflicted. She had been living 10 minutes from her parents and was nervous about leaving them. “What’s there to think about?” her mother asked. “This is the moment you’ve prepared for your whole life.” Garnes attributes her work ethic and success to mom and dad, hard-working people whom she cannot remember calling in sick. Neither has a college degree yet emphasized the importance of higher education. “It was important to them that we had opportunities better than what they had,” Garnes says. “I saw them sacrificing to send three kids to Catholic schools. My dad worked swing shifts his whole life and found time to come out and support us in our extracurricular activities. It’s made me want to be the best person I can be for them.”
ALBERTSON’S - SAFEWAY 20427 N. 27th Ave., Phoenix, 85027 // 623-869-6100 // albertsons. com FOUNDED 1939 EMPLOYEES 14,490 AZ PRINCIPAL Shane Dorcheus, Southwest division president HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Michelle Larson, vice president, marketing and merchandise MCDONALD’S CORP. 17550 N. Perimeter Drive, Suite 400, Scottsdale, 85255 // 602-293-5300 // mcdonalds.com FOUNDED 1955 EMPLOYEES 13,853 AZ PRINCIPAL Bud Lord, director of operations HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Michelle Slayton, president of McDonald’s owner/ operator association of Phoenix and northern Arizona INTEL CORP. 5000 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler, 85226 // 480-552-2002 // intel.com FOUNDED 1968 EMPLOYEES 11,000 AZ PRINCIPAL Doug Davis, corporate vice president, general manager, Internet of Things Group HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Shelly Esque, vice president, global marketing and communications; director, corporate affairs group; chairman, Intel Foundation HONORHEALTH 8125 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale, 85258 // 480-882-4000 // honorhealth.com FOUNDED 1964 EMPLOYEES 10,500 AZ PRINCIPAL Tom Sadvary, CEO HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Rhonda Forsyth, president CIRCLE K P.O. Box 52085, Phoenix, 85072 // 602-728-8000 // circlek.com FOUNDED 1951 EMPLOYEES 10,436 AZ PRINCIPAL NA HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN No designee AMERICAN AIRLINES 4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, 85034 // 480-693-0800 // aa.com FOUNDED 1929 EMPLOYEES 10,100 AZ PRINCIPAL W. Douglas Parker, chairman and CEO HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Elise Eberwein, executive vice president, people and communication
WHO’S WHO IN BUSINESS // 2015
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