Dive Brief:

• PCC Community Markets announced three new executive team leaders with the hiring of Chris Naismith as chief financial officer, Susan Livingston as Marketing + Purpose vice president and Michele Mallory as IT vice president, according to a Tuesday press release. 
• The Marketing + Purpose vice president role is a new addition to PCC with Livingston taking lead on the merger between the co-op grocer’s marketing and social and environmental responsibility teams. 
• These three new executive hires officially mark PCC’s leadership team being two-thirds female-run, according to the press release, and comes after the grocer’s new CEO announcement in mid-January. 

Dive Insight:

Naismith’s new role as CFO will consist of overseeing financial and accounting operations, business planning and analysis as well as strategy development, the announcement states. She will also serve as a “trusted strategic advisor” to the co-op’s CEO, leadership team and board of trustees. 

Prior to PCC, Naismith spent two decades within consumer retail for both privately and publicly held companies, including CFO or senior financial roles at brands such as the Walt Disney Company, Gap Inc., Microsoft, Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma. 

As she oversees the merger of the marketing and social and environmental responsibility teams, Livingston’s new vice president role involves utilizing private sector resources, systems and teams to “deliver scaled social impact solutions,” the announcement said. 

Her background involves over 25 years of experience as a brand marketing and social impact leader working for companies including Nike and Whole Foods Market. 

As PCC’s new vice president of IT, Mallory will be responsible for all aspects of the grocer’s information systems, technologies and processes for both in-store retail and online e-commerce. She has over 20 years of experience in technology.

“These three leaders complete the executive team that will guide PCC into the future with a newly defined three-year strategic plan that furthers PCC’s vision, mission, and values under the leadership of Krish Srinivasan who stepped into the role of President and CEO in January 2022,” the company said in the announcement. 

This new strategic plan, introduced in August by the grocer’s board of trustees, is organized under four pillars: operate excellent stores, reach more people, be a great place to work and do good in our communities, according to an emailed statement from PCC. 

These three new additions to the executive team as well as the co-op grocer’s new strategic plan come less than a year after PCC appointed a new CEO following controversy surrounding Srinivasan's predecessor.