Haggen adds 130 years of industry experience to its leadership team

BELLINGHAM, Wash., May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Haggen announced four new hires and one promotion to its senior staff in order to help manage the emerging opportunities the company has found since the Northwest Fresh brand launched at its Bellevue, Washington store in November 2011. New hires include John Turley as Senior Vice President of Operations; Clement Stevens as Senior Vice President of Sales and Merchandising; Guy DiPasqua as Vice President of Pharmacy; Ronette Snyder as Vice President of Marketing; and Renee Glondo as the Director of Bakery.

The additions come following Haggen's successful launch of its Northwest Fresh initiative built upon the brand pillars of community, homemade and delight. Combined, these new staff members bring over 130 years of retail experience to their respective positions and departments and will help strengthen the company's ability to meet the needs of customers as Northwest Fresh expands throughout Haggen's 28-store network.

"We are excited to welcome these new additions to the Haggen family," said C.J. Gabriel, Jr. (Gabe), president and CEO of Haggen. "Each one brings unique experience and talent to the table and will be instrumental in continuing our mission to bring the best in quality and service to our customers as we grow excitement for Northwest Fresh."

John Turley joins Haggen as Senior Vice President of Operations and brings over 40 years of experience in grocery retail, including marketing, merchandising, and operations. He's held various positions at Vons Grocery and Kroger Co., as well as Quality Food Centers (QFC) where he was responsible for the operations, merchandising and marketing strategy for 95 stores in the Pacific Northwest. Turley is originally from Whittier, CA and attended Fullerton College.

Clement Stevens, who has been with Haggen for two years, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales and Merchandising. Prior to Haggen, Stevens ran his own retail consulting company in Boise, ID focused on product development among the Fresh Foods vendor community. Prior to that, he spent 30 years with Albertson's where he held various positions ranging from store operations to category manager to group vice president of foods where he successfully executed a "Focus on Fresh" strategy across 1,600 stores nationwide. Stevens is originally from Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University.

Guy DiPasqua is Haggen's new Vice President of Pharmacy, and comes to the company with more than 34 years in Pharmacy operations in a leadership role. He's worked as a lead for Savon and Osco Pharmacy operations, as well as the Target Corporation where he was responsible for pharmacies in 64 stores. Originally from Columbus, OH, DiPasqua graduated from the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy.

Ronette Snyder is the new Vice President of Marketing, where she will facilitate marketing efforts for the Northwest Fresh brand across advertising, marketing and merchandising, assisting Haggen to pioneer emerging trends in social and online media. Prior to Haggen, Snyder spent nine years at The Campbell Soup Company, and prior to that spent seven years at Seattle's Best Coffee where she shaped the company's early positioning and branding efforts. A Washington state native, Snyder has a degree in communications from the University of Washington and an MBA in marketing from Seattle University.

Renee Glondo joins as the Director of Bakery, and will be instrumental in expanding the Northwest Fresh brand into Haggen's bakery departments. Glondo worked for QFC for 12 years where, she became Director of Bakery and helped launch QFC's local bakery/deli program. Prior to that, she worked for a wholesale bakery that produced and delivered fresh baked goods to 230 customers daily. Her enthusiasm and creativity will take the bakery program to the next level. She is a Washington native and personally understands the tastes and passions of our region.

About Haggen
Haggen, Inc. operates 28 supermarkets in Washington and Oregon under the Haggen Food & Pharmacy and TOP Food & Drug names. Headquartered in Bellingham, it is the largest independent grocer and sixth-largest private company based in the State of Washington. For more information, visit www.haggen.com and www.top-foods.com.

Media Contact:
Colleen Quinn, The Fearey Group
[email protected] or 206-343-1543

SOURCE Haggen, Inc.