We are pleased to congratulate our talented women leaders who have been chosen for the prestigious recognition of being named ‘Top Women in Grocery’ (TWIG) by Progressive Grocer and ‘Top Women in Convenience’ (TWIC) by Convenience Store News. These awards are presented to women across North America who have played an integral role in shaping the food, retail, and grocery industries through various innovative strategies.

Let’s get to know more about our honorees:

Top Women in Grocery

Kasey, Vice President, Own Brands

Category - Senior-Level Executives (titles of Vice President or higher)

Kasey and her team are responsible for end-to-end management of Giant Eagle and GetGo’s Own Brands strategies, from assortment planning and road-mapping, product development (including speed-to-shelf), innovation, sourcing, cost of goods, vendor partnerships, sustainability, brand portfolio and guardrails, and label design. Own Brand’s holistic “4P” plans, inclusive of assortment strategies, promotional and display plans, pricing and right-sizing planograms are driving growth, including increasing the number of SKUs new to Giant Eagle through dedicated product development.

Community Involvement & Volunteerism

She has been on the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance since June 2021. She has also been a volunteer with Junior Achievement since 2010.

Rachel, Senior Manager, Curbside Operations

Category - Rising Stars (titles lower than Vice President and Area/Region Director)

Rachel leads the operations of Giant Eagle's Curbside Pickup and Delivery business segment. She plays a vital role in providing insights and information to increase revenue and profitability of our ‘click and collect’ model . She has successfully opened eight new Curbside pickup and delivery sites. She also completed eight remodels in existing locations to support the growth and expansion of the business.

Community Involvement & Volunteerism

Rachel served as the Womens Business Resource Group (WBRG) Networking Committee co-chair and also volunteers with Bethlehem Haven – which provides shelter and supportive services to thousands of homeless women.

Cat, Manager, Own Brands Innovation

Category - Rising Stars (titles lower than Vice President and Area/Region Director)

She developed about 130 own brands item and also sourced, created, received line-of-business alignment on 16 new fall holiday items. Cat also executed a summer limited-time program from scratch.

Community Involvement & Volunteerism

Catherine was awarded the Merchandising Team’s quarterly Innovation Award (summer 2022). Currently, she is serving as the Secretary of the Young Professional Business Resource Group (YBRG). She is also an active member of the following organizations: Pittsburgh Young Professionals, Aspinwall Neighbors, Light of Light Rescue Mission, and Second Harvest.

Fatimah, Manager, Distribution Operations

Category - Rising Stars (titles lower than Vice President and Area/Region Director)

Fatima is responsible for overseeing all Team Members in the grocery and office services departments at American Seaway Food, one of our seven Retail Support Centres (RSCs). Fatimah worked closely with our inventory control supervisors and union Team Members to lead the slotting committee and identify issues within the building that could be addressed to improve the selection process and ability to build pallets for our selectors. The changes identified and addressed by the Slotting Committee led to improved pallet stability for delivery to our stores.

Community Involvement & Volunteerism
She leads her location’s team for the American Heart Association campaign each year and organizes walkers for the team. She has also led the slotting committee and TMPOV (Team Member Point of View) Committee and is a member of the BLACC BRG.

Dana, Store Leader

Category - Store Managers (titles of Store Manager/Director/Leader and Assistant Store Manager/Director/Leader)

Dana is a Store Leader at Greensburg Giant Eagle and oversees more than 200 Team Members. Her leadership has led to the highest customer satisfaction (Voice of Guest scores) in her region and one of the top scores in the company. She has also led her team to achieve excellent results in safety and food safety, and she received a 100% on the OSHA audit.

Community Involvement & Volunteerism

Dana is a part of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council, volunteers at the Westmoreland County Food Bank, packed and delivered Thanksgiving Meals to Army Vets, and worked at Seton Hill University to feed the homeless in Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving.

Katie Pacanowski, Director, Transportation

Category - Store Managers (titles of Store Manager/Director/Leader and Assistant Store Manager/Director/Leader)

Katie is responsible for overseeing transportation across our seven retail support centers (RSC). Katie’s expertise and dedication supports our retail locations to minimize impact throughout power lossess, business disruptions, and other emergency events. She answers countless calls at all times of the day and night to support whoever is on the other end of the line.

Community Involvement & Volunteerism

Katie is a chair of the WBRG, a work mentor for the 3 Cups of Coffee Program - a mentorship program as part of PA Women Work that matches professional women of all ages with work-ready women in Pittsburgh that are trying to get back into the workforce for whatever reason. She is also a member of Young Professional Business Resource Group (YBRG), Pittsburgh Women in Supply Chain, PA Women Work, and the National Private Truck Council.

Top Women in Convenience

Maureen, IT Program Manager

Category - Rising Stars (titles lower than Vice President and Area/Region Director)

Maureen is responsible for managing the full portfolio of investments for our fuel and convenience banner. In the past year, she has led the delivery and rollout of a new retail ERP system (PDI) to 275 GetGo locations, which included 80+ system integrations, custom development of a new promotional engine, and large-scale cross-team coordination. Within the Project Management Office (PMO), Maureen leads internal improvement efforts to mature Giant Eagle’s overall delivery of projects.

Community Involvement& Volunteerism
She is a member of the WBRG and the national Project Management Institute (PMI). She is also a board member of the Union Aid Society, whose mission is to provide emergency funding for community members, scholarships for high school seniors, and various other community focused programs in the Quaker Valley community.

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