ANTHONY HUCKER

PRESIDENT & CEO, SOUTHEASTERN GROCERS, JACKSONVILLE

The parent company of BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, Southeastern is the second-largest supermarket chain in the Southeast U.S. based on store count, employing more than 50,000. Since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018, Southeastern has continued its fight to be profitable, closing 22 stores in 2019 and refinancing to cut $600 million from its debt. Also in 2019, the company paid a $300,000 fine for violations of the Clean Air Act and committed to paying more than $4 million to fix leaks in refrigeration equipment at its stores.

Hucker studied at the Metropolitan University of Manchester in the U.K. and has an International Diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Early in his career he worked as a food industry analyst and then for Aldi. Subsequently, he became head of strategy and business development for Walmart and was president of Giant Food and then president and COO of Schnucks in St. Louis before joining Southeastern and being named CEO in 2017. During the coronavirus pandemic, Southeastern gave free groceries to health care professionals and first responders.