Kroger veteran Dave Dillon receives Statesmanship Award
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) this evening presented its highest honor, the Sidney R. Rabb Award, to David B. Dillon, former chairman of the board of directors for The Kroger Co. Dillon accepted the statesmanship award among his peers and industry colleagues at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference in Miami.
Dillon was recognized with the Rabb Award for his excellence in serving the consumer, the community and the industry. Attributes used to describe him typically begin with “genuine,” and his earnestness translates across his career to a deep understanding of the importance of diversity in America and in the American workplace.
Recognizing his achievement and their longtime professional relationship, FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin said, “Dave is a respected leader in the larger food retail industry and consistently highlights the role of constructive feedback, believing that giving it establishes you as an informed leader and receiving it helps you become a better leader. A person of great vision and charisma, his passion for nurturing future leaders for the food retail industry was evident in his spearheading FMI’s 2013 Future Connect Conference, an event dedicated to developing those identified with leadership potential.”
Dillon pledged and brought 200 Kroger employees to FMI Future Connect in 2013, saying, “I will be there, I’ll be taking notes, just like I did the last two times, and I’ll be learning, I hope hand-in-hand right along with you.”
His leadership is reflected in the 37 years he dedicated to the food retail industry, focusing on nearly every aisle and role in the store. Dillon served as Kroger’s chairman from 2004-2014 and as CEO from 2003-2013. Prior to that, he held a variety of executive positions at Kroger and Dillons Cos., which merged in 1983.
Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO, describes Dillon as “a grocer’s grocer,” noting, “You are to me what the Rabb Award is all about—somebody that cares about our industry, cares about people and cares about Kroger and all the things in between.”
Dillon was instrumental in developing Kroger’s “Customer 1st Strategy,” which today has resulted in 44 consecutive quarters of positive identical store sales growth. While Dillon served as CEO, Kroger increased revenue $45 billion, created 53,000 new jobs, reduced costs for eight consecutive years and returned $9.2 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.
Kroger also has become a leader in supermarket sustainability under Dillon’s leadership. Under his leadership, Kroger reduced energy consumption in stores by 33 percent since 2000 and its carbon footprint by 4.4 percent since 2006. Notably, more than half of the company’s 37 manufacturing facilities are zero waste.
In 2011, Forbes Magazine recognized Kroger as the most generous company in America. The company’s efforts to feed families struggling with hunger grew to total contributions of 250 million meals—four million meals per week—annually.
Dillon’s regard for the community is arguably rooted in his appreciation for service and scouting. He received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2012, and he continues to empower entrepreneurial future grocers, mentoring Jayhawks at his alma mater, the University of Kansas, where he serves on the board of trustees of the University of Kansas Endowment.
Dillon is a member of the board of directors of DirecTV and Union Pacific Corp. He serves on the boards of the University of Cincinnati Foundation, the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, and Catalyst. He also was an influential member of the board of directors of the Consumer Goods Forum and FMI.
Dillon’s loyalty and commitment is further exemplified in his family life. He has been married to Dee for 41 years. They currently reside in Kansas, and have three grown children and seven grandchildren.
IGA Chairman Tom Haggai accepts Humanitarian Service Award
IGA Inc. Chairman Dr. Thomas S. Haggai received the FMI Herbert Hoover Award. The Hoover Award recognizes Haggai’s longtime humanitarian service in the food retail industry.
Sarasin said, “Dr. Haggai is a true architect of the human spirit. He motivates, inspires and builds communities in his work with independent operators. Honoring him tonight is honoring a global legacy of achievement within our industry.”
Haggai is often touted as the only non-grocery retailer to sit on the board of IGA. A radio personality, author, minister and business consultant, Haggai has contributed a notably diverse perspective to the board of IGA since 1972 and as board chairman since 1976. He often celebrates the creative minds at IGA to media and in his addresses, and once referred to IGA as a think tank due to the talent at the helm of the organization. Under his advisement, Haggai helped introduce IGA in Japan and Australia in the late 1980s; but he also identified strong domestic growth opportunities, especially within cities like Philadelphia and Cincinnati where IGA continues to enjoy a strong presence.
“It was his business influence that earned Dr. Haggai the FMI Sidney R. Rabb Award in 2003, but it is his commitment to youth, education and the community for which he earns the Hoover Award more than a decade later,” Sarasin said.
Haggai founded Tom Haggai and Associates (THA) Foundation in 1963 with 120 national business and professional leaders as associates. According to published reports, THA Foundation provides assistance “so young people would be prepared to help the youth of our country,” focusing on college scholarships to nontraditional students returning to school in pursuit of certification as elementary school teachers. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than 1,200 scholarships exceeding $3 million.
His commitment to schooling was evident in his 1985 commencement address to Pepperdine School of Education and Philosophy where Haggai told graduates, “Education has been the ‘real resource’ contributing to the welfare and growth of society.”
While he is often in the role of educator, he has described himself as a dedicated and constant student of the grocery industry.
Haggai has been the recipient of many teaching honors throughout his career, among them earning honorary degrees from High Point University, Salem College, Charleston Southern University, Pepperdine University, Alderson Broaddus College, Campbell University, Boston University, Northwood University, Lindenwood University, Missouri Western State College, Virginia Union, Doane College and North Greenville University.
IGA President and CEO Mark Batenic celebrated Haggai in a video testimonial, sharing many of the selfless qualities that make Haggai a deserving recipient of the Hoover Award. Batenic describes Haggai as humble, a strong communicator, a good listener and having integrity in business.
“He’ll tell you he’s not a grocery person,” Batenic said. “The reason he’s in this business is because he knows people. And he knows how to motivate people. With IGA, he truly believes he’s on a mission, and that mission is to build community centers. He firmly believes in the entrepreneurial, family-owned business spirit. Not just in this country, but all around the world.”
Batenic concluded with a personal message to Haggai, saying, “For you to receive this award is certainly, I think, a high point of your career. And I know you’ve received other awards, but this one to me means the most because it truly exemplifies the kind of life you’ve led. And that life is to be an example for everybody else as they move forward in their lives.”
Haggai and his wife, Buren, currently reside in Jamestown, North Carolina. They have three daughters, one son, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
ConAgra Foods’ Gary Rodkin takes home Albers Award for Business Collaboration
ConAgra Foods Inc. CEO Gary Rodkin was given the William H. Albers Award, recognizing his exemplary business partner relations within the retail food industry.
Rodkin has a celebrated history at the helm of ConAgra Foods and in his industry role as Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) chairman, which led to the evolution of the FMI-GMA Trading Partner Alliance, a joint-industry working group aimed at streamlining business efficiencies along the food manufacturer and retailer supply chain. He was integral among FMI and GMA leadership to enact new programs and protocols, most notably regarding health and wellness, center store and sustainability initiatives.
“Gary embodies the ideal qualities in a business partner, and he’s ultimately focused on serving the end consumer,” Sarasin said. “I’ve been fortunate to work alongside Gary for many years, and he never loses sight of how he’s going to work with his retail business partner to deliver on a promise to the shopper.”
Rodkin joined ConAgra Foods in October 2005 and transformed it from a holding company into one unified operating company. Under his leadership, the ConAgra Foods Foundation has continued to lead the fight against child hunger in the U.S., a cause the company has been committed to for more than 20 years.
Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, Rodkin was chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America. He joined PepsiCo in 1998 after it acquired Tropicana, where he had served as president since 1995. From 1979-1995, he held marketing and general management positions of increasing responsibility at General Mills, with his last three years at the company as president of the Yoplait yogurt division.
Working on the GMA board together, and most recently on ConAgra Foods’ board, Rick Lenny, chairman of IRI and former chairman and CEO of The Hershey Co., recalled in a testimonial video, “Gary’s had an exceptional career across multiple companies and numerous business models. His success can be defined by the three Cs: company-first mindset, consumer driven and customer focused. Nowhere have these principles been more evident than through his work on behalf of GMA and in collaboration with FMI.”
One of Rodkin’s most recent and notable accomplishments during his service on the FMI and GMA board of directors was his influence in helping the food industry launch Facts Up Front, a nutrition guidance program, in order to help consumers make informed decisions about the foods they eat.
Rodkin’s commitment to business and supply chain initiatives translates to the community and his involvement in local hunger programs. Under his leadership, ConAgra made a $4 million commitment to Omaha families, which localizes the company’s overall hunger effort, and he instituted a service program to encourage company employees to give back to their communities. Rodkin’s philanthropy also is evident in his creation of a college and trade school scholarship program specifically for ConAgra’s production employees.
“Quite simply, Gary believes we’re better together,” Lenny said. “The prestigious William H. Albers Industry Relations Award is a fitting tribute for all that Gary has accomplished.”
Rodkin graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers College and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. In addition to his tenure on the FMI and GMA boards, he serves on the board of overseers for Rutgers College, on the board of Avon Products and is chairman of Boys Town. Rodkin also is a member of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce and a fellow of executive education at Harvard Business School.