NGA Concludes Fall Leadership Meetings, New Appointments Made to Board of Directors

October 26, 2018

Washington, DC – The National Grocers Association (NGA), the trade association representing the independent supermarket industry, today concluded the Independent Impact Summit and Trading Partners Live! held at the NGA Fall Leadership Meetings.

Nearly 200 attendees gathered in Washington, DC, where over 300 senior level meetings between independent retailers and wholesalers with manufacturers and service suppliers were conducted to discuss mutual business opportunities, strategies, and goals.

Leftover product from participating companies were donated to the Carpenter’s Shelter, a nonprofit organization that serves more than 600 homeless and formerly homeless children and adults each year.

NGA’s Board of Directors also voted unanimously to appoint Jay Ard, vice president of industry affairs at The Coca-Cola Company and Kevin Proctor, chief investment officer at Save-A-Lot, to fill vacancies on its Board of Directors.

Ard, who joined Coca-Cola in 1979 as a route driver for the Rainwater Coca-Cola Bottling Group, has held a number of different positions for the company over the years. By 1994, he’d moved up the ladder to become area vice president for South Louisiana before earning a promotion to general manager of the Gulf States Division and Florida Division. He’s served as The Coca-Cola Co.’s vice president of national sales, convenience retail since 2005.

Proctor serves as Chief Investment Officer of Save-A-Lot Food Stores. As CIO, Kevin offers a unique perspective and extensive background in both the Retail and Real Estate markets. Before starting his career at Save-A-Lot, Kevin spent over sixteen years with European discount giant Lidl where he held various positions within the company in both operational and corporate roles including Executive Vice President of Real Estate where he was part of the team that headed up Lidl’s North American expansion. Kevin also served as Chief Operating Officer of Digicel Group, a mobile phone network provider that operates in 31 markets across the Caribbean, Central America and Oceania regions. Kevin’s array of experience spans across Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States. Kevin received his Bachelor of Science, Real Estate Development from Oxford Brookes University in 1997.

“I am pleased to welcome Jay and Kevin to NGA’s Board of Directors,” said Peter Larkin, president and CEO of NGA. “Both have broad industry experience and will bring insight that will be very valuable as we work to advance our organization and the independent supermarket industry.”

 

Additional Media Resources:

Head shot of Jay Ard

Head shot of Kevin Proctor