H-E-B’s Charles Butt Ranks No. 2 on Glassdoor's 2019 Top CEO List

H-E-B’s Charles Butt once again was named among Glassdoor’s top CEOs. Although it’s a familiar honor for the San Antonio-based retailer’s chairman and CEO, this year’s employee-driven survey ranked the well-respected retail executive as second among 100 chief executives from across the nation, with a 99% approval rating from employees.

As part of the employee recruiting website’s Employees’ Choice Awards, Glassdoor’s top CEO rankings are based entirely on anonymous employee feedback shared publicly on Glassdoor.

A few of the comments shared on Glassdoor’s website about H-E-B’s patriarch underscore his legacy of leadership at the 400-store regional retailer. “Treated the partners fairly and good pay,” “Flexible schedule, vacation hours for part-timers,” and the “strong outlook and pride” the chain has in itself “and the role they serve and in communities. Very flexible work environment with opportunities to grow and write your own ticket if you are good. Extremely good culture dedicated to the customer and the employee (a lot of places don’t emphasize the latter). They are quickly evolving beyond the past conservative mindset (which was prevalent in the industry) into more forward thinking. ... Medical insurance is quite good (they self-insure).”

Among the highlights of Butt’s leadership, according to H-E-B, is “the desire to constantly innovate, [which] has led to new store concepts, the creation of one of the most successful private label programs in the country and the commitment to build out state-of-the-art digital products and services to complement H-E-B’s world-class stores.”

Butt, 81, succeeded his father as company president when the company had 6,000 partners, about 120 stores and $221 million in annual sales. Since taking the helm in 1981, H-E-B has grown more than 400 stores in Texas and Mexico with more than 116,000 partners and sales of more than $26 billion.

As the largest privately-held employer in Texas, 63,000 of H-E-B’s partners were granted company stock in 2015 as a way of rewarding their hard work, dedication and loyalty.

Butt’s commitment to the company’s partners and the communities it serves is also evident as part of the company’s philanthropic mission. Each year, the retailer donates more than 5% of its pretax earnings to nonprofit organizations focused on causes such as education, hunger relief, military, health and wellness, social services, the environment, diversity and the arts.

A renowned champion for public education and literacy, Butt has developed initiatives such as Raise Your Hand Texas, a nonprofit advocacy organization that works to strengthen public education in Texas. He also created The Holdsworth Center in recent years with a $100 million investment of his personal wealth for a nonprofit leadership institute for Texas public school administrators. Further, the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers provides annual funding for up to four years, along with training and development opportunities with established public educators and meaningful investments in the development of the CAST schools.

In addition to Charles Butt, Joe Gallo of E. & J. Gallo Winery ranked on Glassdoor’s top CEO survey at No. 51, while Colleen Wegman of Wegmans Food Markets paced Gallo at No. 52.