Heritage Grocers Group has named grocery executive veteran Suzy Monford as chairman and CEO, according to a Monday announcement.
Monford brings more than 25 years of experience to the specialty Hispanic grocer’s leadership role. She currently serves as CEO for Food Sport International, a global consultancy firm for retailers, according to the announcement. Monford has served as the consultancy’s CEO for more than three years, per her LinkedIn profile.
Heritage board members Andy Jhawar and Joanna Reiss said they are “confident that [Monford’s] unparalleled industry experience and track record for driving transformational growth will allow her to lead the company into its next phase of growth.”
Prior to Food Sport International, Monford was PCC Community Markets’ CEO for less than a year. While at the co-op, Monford grew its membership to over 100,000 for the first time in its history, the press release noted. She was also group vice president of e-commerce new markets for Kroger in 2020 and before that was Kroger’s group vice president of fresh. She also spent nearly two years as president of Kroger’s QFC banner and nearly three years as CEO of Bay Area grocer Andronico’s Community Markets.
“Heritage’s differentiated value proposition and operational excellence will enable the business to capitalize on macroeconomic tailwinds and grow at scale over the years to come,” Monford said in a statement.
Doug Sanders, Heritage’s former CEO and chairman, left the grocery company “for personal matters,” a spokesperson for the company said. Sanders served in those top roles since 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Monford’s appointment follows other C-suite changes at Heritage. In October 2023, the company announced it promoted Eric Stover to president and Prabash Coswatte to chief operating officer.
Currently, Heritage’s footprint spans six states and consists of 115 locations under the Cardenas Markets, El Rancho Supermercado, Tony’s Fresh Market and Los Altos Ranch Market banners.
