GFIA LEADERSHIP
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Meet Our Chairman -
Tim Brown
GFIA Chairman
President - Atlanta Division
The Kroger Company
Our new chairman’s 44-year career with the Kroger Company has taken him across the country, serving in leadership roles in 9 Kroger divisions and the corporate office in Ohio.
After 14 moves with the company, yes..14 moves, Tim came back to Georgia in 2018 as the President of the Atlanta Division
Tim Brown
GFIA Chairman
President - Atlanta Division
The Kroger Company
Our new chairman’s 44-year career with the Kroger Company has taken him across the country, serving in leadership roles in 9 Kroger divisions and the corporate office in Ohio.
After 14 moves with the company, yes..14 moves, Tim came back to Georgia in 2018 as the President of the Atlanta Division
Can you tell us about your career path in the grocery industry?
My first job was bagging groceries when I was 15 years old at Bailey’s IGA, a single store independent owner in Southern Illinois. At 17, I went to work with Kroger, starting as a courtesy clerk. In 1981, I joined Kroger’s management training program and the company has given me plenty of opportunities in both the merchandising and operations sides of the business.
I spent four years serving as Vice President of meat, seafood and deli/bakery operations in the corporate office in Cincinnati OH before serving as Vice President of Merchandising in both the Columbus OH and Atlanta divisions. In 2012, I moved to the Mid-Atlantic division in Roanoke VA as Vice President of Operations. I was promoted to Division President and served in this role in the Kroger Delta division in Memphis TN and Cincinnati/Dayton division before happily returning to Atlanta in 2018.
In your current role, what do you enjoy most about your job?
The most joy I get is visiting our stores and talking to our store teams. I like talking to them about the challenges they face day to day. It allows me to stay close to the business and help them find solutions. I also love hearing their stories about family and friends and getting to know them on more of a personal level. It also gives me joy watching many of them get promoted to new jobs and becoming great leaders.
Running a division during a pandemic has been something no one could plan for!
What has been your biggest frustration?
My two biggest frustrations are not having the product availability to serve our customers and associates, and the heartache of seeing so many of our associates and their families deal with COVID and not being able to do much to help them.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of our total store teams. The work they did to service our customers and associates at the height of the pandemic was truly amazing! We learned how to pivot in ways we never thought possible, and we learned so many new ways of working differently under these conditions. I’m also proud of our pharmacy team, who has played a vital role in getting our customers vaccinated. Every retail pharmacist and pharmacy technician deserve kudos for the job they continue to do to get shots in the arms of thousands of Georgians!
What has been the biggest surprise for you?
What surprises me the most is like what I’m most proud of. I am so surprised at how rapidly our teams were able to make adjustments to manage our stores and keep the food supply flowing. I’m also surprised that the supply chain – both food products and store supplies and equipment – is still not flowing like we expected.
What do you have to teach? What do you have to learn?
What I teach is helping our store and division leaders how to think differently in today’s environment. I enjoy helping them find solutions to the opportunities they are currently facing. I also like to teach and encourage them as leaders to keep our associates morale up as much as we can during these challenging times.
There isn’t a day that goes by in this business that I don’t learn something new and most of this learning comes from our store associates. I also must learn patience (been working on that one for most of my career). I must be able to assess our ability to move and pivot at a rapid pace, but not let my impatience impede progress. I want to push our team to move fast but with a cadence that the organization can follow.
You are back for your second term as GFIA chairman. With your busy schedule, how do you have time to dedicate to the association?
GFIA is extremely important to our company and division. Under Kathy’s leadership, the association has incredible relationships with government officials and regulatory agencies. Kathy and her team help retailers, from the chain stores to the independent retailers, and our vendor partners navigate and understand the complexity of rules and regulations required to operate our stores and businesses.
GFIA is important to me personally because being a part of the GFIA family- and it is truly a family- has been very rewarding. I’ve worked in several other states, and the GFIA culture is unique and special. I have made great friends at our meetings, events and board retreats and we enjoy spending time with them. Competitors by day, but friends when we gather with the GFIA.
What advice would you give someone interested in volunteering or even joining a GFIA committee or board?
JUST DO IT! You will find it to be very rewarding and informational. You will be glad you did! The association is only as strong as our volunteers, so I would encourage every GFIA member company to definitely get involved. The value of your membership will multiply greatly when you become an active member!
Why was coming back to Atlanta important to you?
Coming back to Atlanta was very important and exciting. First, my children and grandchildren all live in the Atlanta area. Secondly, my wife grew up in Georgia and her family all live here. It’s been like coming home for Angie and me.
Additionally, running the Atlanta division means a lot to me. It is one of our largest divisions with lots of geographic diversity. I enjoy spending time in our stores throughout the entire division that includes North and South Georgia, Savannah, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. The Atlanta division and our associates hold a special place in my heart and have from the first time I came here.
Tell us more about your family.
I am very lucky to be married to my beautiful wife Angie. She is there by my side every single day. She is an awesome life partner and a great person to bounce work things off. She gives me different perspectives from her past work experiences that are helpful. She is my rock and keeps me well-grounded and that’s important in this fast-paced industry.
I have three wonderful adult children, Karen, Katy and Jake, and I’m very excited to be back close to them. It was 9 years before I was transferred back to Atlanta, and now get to spend time with not only my kids, but my beautiful baby granddaughters, Piper 5 and Amelia 9 months! I’ve long been told that grandkids are the best thing to ever happen, and it is so true. My grandfather was a huge influence in my life. When I was just a young lad, he was teaching me “life things”. I want to be that grandfather for them, and I tell them both, “I will be your favorite”.
Everyone thinks of Kroger as a huge corporation. Can you remind us how Kroger got started?
In 1883, Bernard (“Barney”) Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a grocery store in a suburb of Cincinnati Ohio. Kroger was a former coffee and tea salesman and was the son of a grocer. He opened that first store, the “Great Western Tea Company” with a partner but bought him out two years later. In 1885, the company owned four stores. Barney Kroger could never have imagined the grocery business today!
What do you do in your downtime?
Downtime? Seriously? This is the grocery business! Angie and I have a house on Hilton Head Island and when we get the chance to go there, we love the beach and boat time. We find it very relaxing. We both love to try new restaurants and experience different foods from different cultures. We also love to travel and be on the go.
What is your perfect meal?
Fried chicken, collard greens and mashed potatoes with creamed corn on top of the potatoes. That’s what my grandmother used to make for us on Sundays. (actually, Angie turned me on to the creamed corn on the potato thing) I think the best fried chicken is at a terrific restaurant called Southern Charm in Blueridge. I’m picky about my collard greens and they also make them wonderfully.
We know you love to cook. What is your favorite meal that you prepare?
I love to cook Italian food. Angie loves my veal parmesan, but my eggplant parmesan is my favorite.
If you weren’t a grocer, what would your fantasy job be?
My fantasy job if not a grocer would be professional golfer. I love the game and have played since age 12. (Although if you saw me play, you might question the length of time I have played :) I know that’s very hard work too, but I have a passion for the game and can’t wait to get back out on the course again in the future
My first job was bagging groceries when I was 15 years old at Bailey’s IGA, a single store independent owner in Southern Illinois. At 17, I went to work with Kroger, starting as a courtesy clerk. In 1981, I joined Kroger’s management training program and the company has given me plenty of opportunities in both the merchandising and operations sides of the business.
I spent four years serving as Vice President of meat, seafood and deli/bakery operations in the corporate office in Cincinnati OH before serving as Vice President of Merchandising in both the Columbus OH and Atlanta divisions. In 2012, I moved to the Mid-Atlantic division in Roanoke VA as Vice President of Operations. I was promoted to Division President and served in this role in the Kroger Delta division in Memphis TN and Cincinnati/Dayton division before happily returning to Atlanta in 2018.
In your current role, what do you enjoy most about your job?
The most joy I get is visiting our stores and talking to our store teams. I like talking to them about the challenges they face day to day. It allows me to stay close to the business and help them find solutions. I also love hearing their stories about family and friends and getting to know them on more of a personal level. It also gives me joy watching many of them get promoted to new jobs and becoming great leaders.
Running a division during a pandemic has been something no one could plan for!
What has been your biggest frustration?
My two biggest frustrations are not having the product availability to serve our customers and associates, and the heartache of seeing so many of our associates and their families deal with COVID and not being able to do much to help them.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of our total store teams. The work they did to service our customers and associates at the height of the pandemic was truly amazing! We learned how to pivot in ways we never thought possible, and we learned so many new ways of working differently under these conditions. I’m also proud of our pharmacy team, who has played a vital role in getting our customers vaccinated. Every retail pharmacist and pharmacy technician deserve kudos for the job they continue to do to get shots in the arms of thousands of Georgians!
What has been the biggest surprise for you?
What surprises me the most is like what I’m most proud of. I am so surprised at how rapidly our teams were able to make adjustments to manage our stores and keep the food supply flowing. I’m also surprised that the supply chain – both food products and store supplies and equipment – is still not flowing like we expected.
What do you have to teach? What do you have to learn?
What I teach is helping our store and division leaders how to think differently in today’s environment. I enjoy helping them find solutions to the opportunities they are currently facing. I also like to teach and encourage them as leaders to keep our associates morale up as much as we can during these challenging times.
There isn’t a day that goes by in this business that I don’t learn something new and most of this learning comes from our store associates. I also must learn patience (been working on that one for most of my career). I must be able to assess our ability to move and pivot at a rapid pace, but not let my impatience impede progress. I want to push our team to move fast but with a cadence that the organization can follow.
You are back for your second term as GFIA chairman. With your busy schedule, how do you have time to dedicate to the association?
GFIA is extremely important to our company and division. Under Kathy’s leadership, the association has incredible relationships with government officials and regulatory agencies. Kathy and her team help retailers, from the chain stores to the independent retailers, and our vendor partners navigate and understand the complexity of rules and regulations required to operate our stores and businesses.
GFIA is important to me personally because being a part of the GFIA family- and it is truly a family- has been very rewarding. I’ve worked in several other states, and the GFIA culture is unique and special. I have made great friends at our meetings, events and board retreats and we enjoy spending time with them. Competitors by day, but friends when we gather with the GFIA.
What advice would you give someone interested in volunteering or even joining a GFIA committee or board?
JUST DO IT! You will find it to be very rewarding and informational. You will be glad you did! The association is only as strong as our volunteers, so I would encourage every GFIA member company to definitely get involved. The value of your membership will multiply greatly when you become an active member!
Why was coming back to Atlanta important to you?
Coming back to Atlanta was very important and exciting. First, my children and grandchildren all live in the Atlanta area. Secondly, my wife grew up in Georgia and her family all live here. It’s been like coming home for Angie and me.
Additionally, running the Atlanta division means a lot to me. It is one of our largest divisions with lots of geographic diversity. I enjoy spending time in our stores throughout the entire division that includes North and South Georgia, Savannah, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. The Atlanta division and our associates hold a special place in my heart and have from the first time I came here.
Tell us more about your family.
I am very lucky to be married to my beautiful wife Angie. She is there by my side every single day. She is an awesome life partner and a great person to bounce work things off. She gives me different perspectives from her past work experiences that are helpful. She is my rock and keeps me well-grounded and that’s important in this fast-paced industry.
I have three wonderful adult children, Karen, Katy and Jake, and I’m very excited to be back close to them. It was 9 years before I was transferred back to Atlanta, and now get to spend time with not only my kids, but my beautiful baby granddaughters, Piper 5 and Amelia 9 months! I’ve long been told that grandkids are the best thing to ever happen, and it is so true. My grandfather was a huge influence in my life. When I was just a young lad, he was teaching me “life things”. I want to be that grandfather for them, and I tell them both, “I will be your favorite”.
Everyone thinks of Kroger as a huge corporation. Can you remind us how Kroger got started?
In 1883, Bernard (“Barney”) Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a grocery store in a suburb of Cincinnati Ohio. Kroger was a former coffee and tea salesman and was the son of a grocer. He opened that first store, the “Great Western Tea Company” with a partner but bought him out two years later. In 1885, the company owned four stores. Barney Kroger could never have imagined the grocery business today!
What do you do in your downtime?
Downtime? Seriously? This is the grocery business! Angie and I have a house on Hilton Head Island and when we get the chance to go there, we love the beach and boat time. We find it very relaxing. We both love to try new restaurants and experience different foods from different cultures. We also love to travel and be on the go.
What is your perfect meal?
Fried chicken, collard greens and mashed potatoes with creamed corn on top of the potatoes. That’s what my grandmother used to make for us on Sundays. (actually, Angie turned me on to the creamed corn on the potato thing) I think the best fried chicken is at a terrific restaurant called Southern Charm in Blueridge. I’m picky about my collard greens and they also make them wonderfully.
We know you love to cook. What is your favorite meal that you prepare?
I love to cook Italian food. Angie loves my veal parmesan, but my eggplant parmesan is my favorite.
If you weren’t a grocer, what would your fantasy job be?
My fantasy job if not a grocer would be professional golfer. I love the game and have played since age 12. (Although if you saw me play, you might question the length of time I have played :) I know that’s very hard work too, but I have a passion for the game and can’t wait to get back out on the course again in the future
