New Seasons Market taps Nancy Lebold as CEO

Nancy Lebold has joined New Seasons Market and its New Leaf Community Markets subsidiary as CEO.

Portland, Ore.-based New Seasons said Lebold started as chief executive yesterday. She comes to the West Coast grocer from The Kroger Co.’s Food 4 Less banner, where she served as vice president of merchandising in California.

“As we emerge from the challenges of the past year, I look forward to bringing a people-centric leadership approach to New Seasons Market and New Leaf Community Markets as we reconnect communities around good food,” Lebold (left) said in a statement. “In close partnership with the current senior leadership teams, I’m committed to creating reinvigorated experiences at both banners that offer staff, customers and the communities we serve more reasons to fall in love with us all over again.”

Lebold takes the CEO reins from Forrest Hoffmaster, who stepped down late last month as part of a new strategic growth plan by parent company Good Food Holdings.

New Seasons had announced in early March that an executive search was under way and a successor would be named before the departure of Hoffmaster (right). He served as New Seasons’ CEO since January 2019, remaining in the post following Good Food’s acquisition of New Seasons in December 2019.

Related:New Seasons Market to discontinue sales of single-use bottled water

Lebold had served as merchandising VP at Food 4 Less in California since September 2019. She came to the value grocery chain after more than 27 years at Boise, Idaho-based WinCo Foods, where she held several leadership roles in the Pacific Northwest, most recently as senior VP of retail operations. Before that, Lebold served as VP of procurement in Idaho and VP of general merchandise in Oregon.

Also on Thursday, New Seasons said Forrest Gonsiewski (left), regional vice president, will continue in a senior leadership position overseeing strategic business initiatives for New Leaf as well as New Seasons’ Evergreen store in San Jose, Calif. Gonsiewski has been with New Seasons since 2002, starting as a manager, and then in mid-2014 was promoted to regional operations director for both New Seasons and New Leaf. He was appointed vice president at New Leaf in September 2019.

New Seasons Market operates 19 stores in Oregon, Washington and Northern California, and New Leaf Community Market has five stores in California’s Central Coast region. Primarily serving the Portland and San Francisco Bay markets, New Seasons provides a mix of locally sourced and organic items, grocery favorites and chef-made meal solutions. New Leaf Community Markets specializes in natural and organic food and groceries. Both banners operate independently as certified B Corporations.

Related:Natural retailer New Seasons Market sold to Good Food Holdings

Last month, New Seasons said it plans to open a 27,800-square-foot store in Lake Oswego, Ore., in spring 2022 and a 25,000-square-foot store in Vancouver, Wash., in fall 2023.

Good Food Holdings includes three other food retail chains: Bristol Farms and Lazy Acres Natural Market in Southern California and Metropolitan Market in Seattle. Hypermarket retailer Emart, which operates about 200 stores in South Korea, acquired Good Food Holdings in 2018 and is part of Seoul-based global retailer The Shinsegae Group.