Service Deli Sales Manager
Albertsons Companies’ Albertsons and Vons banner stores in Southern California
Boise, ID
Q. How has your career evolved over the years?
A. I have been employed by Albertsons Cos. for 30 years, and during that time, I’ve held multiple positions in various departments. I have worked in store level operations, regional field level operations as well as marketing. Today, I’m the service deli sales manager for the Southern California division, supporting Albertsons and Vons stores.
Q. What positions have you held in industry associations?
A. I’m currently enrolled in our internal associate resource group known as Women’s Inspiration and Resource Network. I was also a part of Next Up–Rising Stars, which is an external leadership program developed by experts designed to provide female talent the necessary tools to transition into leadership roles.
Q. What is your leadership philosophy?
A. My leadership philosophy is to consistently put people first and lead by example. I’ve always followed this respective statement, as our business revolves around people. We can motivate and inspire our associates to lead by our own work ethic and examples we provide for guidance.
Q. What is the best advice you ever received and why?
A. During a key moment in my career, when I was challenged to lead, the current division senior vice president of marketing and merchandising asked me a question, which was very impactful to my outlook on leadership. She asked, ”What are you doing today to get you where you want to be tomorrow?” That was a defining, epiphany moment where I was challenged to anticipate what I wanted to accomplish moving forward, not only my personal career, but also with the people who I worked closely with. This moment helped shape my leadership style to where it is today.
Q. How do you balance your work and personal life?
A. Having a well-blended work life balance is important to me. I prioritize properly to make sure I am available for my family, primarily my son and husband. Having a structured approach helps me optimize balance to not only ensure there’s a positive balance for personal life, but also enables me to maintain execution with my current role in business.
Q. What deli retail trends have impacted the industry most over the last year?
A. TikTok videos that emphasized recipe ideas to enhance occasions with feta cheese took the interweb by storm, causing a huge frenzy for demand of feta cheese. The ability to create various charcuterie assortments is another area that has heightened awareness, which offers customers unique ways to entertain with a mixture of meats and cheeses as well as fresh fruits and vegetables to “wow” their guests for any occasion.
Q. What technology or technical tools are indispensable to you in the workplace and why?
A. We have many internal applications that assist me with pricing, market trends, share trends and promotional activity. They hit the quintessential four P’s of marketing on a very thorough level.
Q. What hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?
A. My husband and son are outdoor and offroad enthusiasts, so as a family, we enjoy camping. We mainly camp in areas where you have to be self-sufficient, as those are the areas that have the terrain to ride ATV’s. Our two cats, and our dog go camping with us, as well. They are actually named after Star Wars characters, which is one of our family’s favorite science fiction franchises.
Q. Are you married? If so, how long? How many children?
A. I’ve been married for 17 years to my husband Ron, and we have one 16 year-old son named Cameron.
