Whole Foods names 3 senior leaders

Whole Foods Market on Monday announced three new members of its senior leadership team, including two former Wal-Mart Stores executives and a Starbucks veteran. 

Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, global VP of marketing; Martin Tracey, global VP of team member services, and Brooke Buchanan, global VP of communications, joined their respective teams Monday, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said.

Sonya Gafsi Oblisk

“We are thrilled to welcome Sonya, Martin and Brooke to our senior leadership team,” Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, said in a statement. “They are accomplished leaders who bring deep retail and consumer experience, valuable perspective on both internal and external communications strategy and will play an integral role in supporting the company’s culture of innovation and team member empowerment as we continue to grow and evolve.”

Oblisk will lead the company’s marketing, advertising and brand development efforts, including digital, brand marketing and customer relationship strategies. Oblisk brings more than 15 years of experience in retail, consumer products and affinity marketing, including an eight-year tenure at Wal-Mart where she most recently served as VP of marketing for Sam’s Club.

Martin Tracey

Tracey will have strategic responsibilities for the end-to-end team member experience including recruitment, compensation and benefits, talent analytics, learning and development and payroll operations for more than 87,000 team members, Whole Foods said. In his most recent role at Starbucks, Tracey was responsible for leadership development, talent analytics, and organizational development as chief talent officer and VP of people development.

Brooke Buchanan

Buchanan will lead Whole Foods Market’s public relations, internal communications and government affairs efforts. Buchanan has previously served as VP of communications for Theranos, VP of public relations for Williams-Sonoma and held multiple senior positions at Walmart. Prior to her corporate experience, she spent over eight years in political and government communications.

The new vice presidents are based at the company’s headquarters in Austin.