H-E-B promotes Cathy Harm to regional VP

Cathy Harm has been named regional vice president for Central Texas at H-E-B.

The San Antonio-based grocer said yesterday that Harm, previously director of retail operations, now leads more than 20,000 employees in the Central Texas area, overseeing store operations, merchandising, human resources, real estate, public relations, loss prevention and financial performance.

H-E-B noted that Harm took on the new role early this year — only weeks before the coronavirus pandemic began — and leveraged “her deep industry knowledge and steady presence” to lead 55 stores in Central Texas in navigating the crisis and upholding customer service and community support.

“No one started this year anticipating being a frontline worker in a global pandemic. But when a crisis hits, there is no organization better equipped than H-E-B to manage and lead through it,” Harm said in a statement. “It has been my privilege to work alongside 20,000 talented H-E-B partners in Central Texas as we creatively served our customers through these uncertain times. The people and the culture of the greater Austin community make this a special place to call home, and I’m honored to represent H-E-B here. I’m equally honored to work beside our innovative, passionate and committed team of partners as we wrap up 2020 and head into 2021.”

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Harm started her 35-year H-E-B career in Central Texas store operations after graduating college and then moved to San Antonio to serve in various corporate roles at the Texas grocer. Those positions included category manager for general merchandise and importing buyer, in which she sourced, developed and procured products from Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Next, Harm was appointed as director of own brands, leading the development and teams for some of H-E-B’s top private labels, such as H-E-B Creamy Creations ice cream and H-E-B Café Ole coffee. She then became director of merchandising and marketing in the San Antonio region before being named director of retail operations.

A diversity advocate, Harm has worked with the grocer’s Women in Leadership programs to help develop female leadership roles within the company and community, H-E-B said, adding that she’s well-known among her colleagues for talent development across the business.

Overall, H-E-B operates more than 400 stores in Texas and northern Mexico.