Candid With Candidates

What does it take to build a resilient leadership career when the path is anything but linear? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn sits down with Shannon Clark, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications for Houchens Food Group, Inc., to discuss a career journey shaped by adaptability, operational depth, and strategic growth. From apparel design and store operations to...

After more than 15 years in retail leadership, Brian Anderson learned that long-term success is not built by doing everything yourself—it is built by developing people, challenging outdated thinking, and staying adaptable in rapidly changing environments. In this episode of Candid with Candidates, Jenn Hahn sits down with Brian Anderson, Senior Vice President of Operations, Supply Chain & Dist...

What does it take to lead one of the most critical categories in grocery retail—and how do you build a lasting, evolving career within the same organization? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Natasha Brinegar, Vice President of Category Management,  Meat & Seafood at Food Lion, joins Jenn Hahn to share her 34-year journey from store-level cashier to executive leadership. Natasha offe...

Wondering what it takes to lead a billion-dollar, retailer-owned grocery wholesaler—and how does someone go from public accounting to the CEO seat without following a traditional executive path? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn sits down with Amy Niemetscheck, President and CEO of Certco Inc., to discuss her career journey from CPA to controller, CFO, and ultimately Presid...

After 24 Years in Retail, Aaron Gottlieb Says Career Growth Starts in the Field—Not the Office. In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jenn Hahn sits down with Aaron Gottlieb, Executive Vice President of New Business Development for Retailer & Experiential Services at Advantage Solutions and President of Daymon Japan, to explore a career shaped by intentional moves, cross-functional exper...

What does it truly take to step into a CEO role—and how do you build a career that prepares you for that level of leadership? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Kristi Ross, CEO of Three Dog Brands, joins Jenn Hahn for a thoughtful conversation on executive leadership, career progression, and driving growth within a private equity-backed organization. As CEO of Three Dog Brands, Kristi sh...

What does it take to build a long-term career in grocery retail—and ultimately step into the President & CEO role? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jenn Hahn sits down with Ryan Adams, President & CEO of Gelson's Markets, to discuss his career journey from entry-level store roles to leading a premium regional grocery organization. With more than 25 years of experience acros...

Behind every compliant supplier file and traceable product movement is a disciplined system—and a leader ensuring it works. In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn speaks with Ann Visser-Depp, Food Industry Leader and Partner at ReposiTrak, about a professional journey that spans hospitality, accounting, procurement, executive leadership, and now food safety and compliance strate...

What does it take to build a four-decade leadership career in one of the most complex and competitive industries in retail—without a traditional corporate path? In this episode of Candid with Candidates, Jenn Hahn sits down with Larree Renda, retired Executive Vice President of Safeway, Inc., to discuss her remarkable career journey—from starting as a grocery bagger at age 16 to ultimately oversee...

Sustainable success in business rarely comes down to strategy alone. More often, it is culture—the behaviors, expectations, and leadership standards inside an organization—that determines long-term performance. In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn speaks with James D. White, a 30-year operating executive whose career spans consumer packaged goods, retail, restaurants, and more...

What does it take to successfully scale a CPG brand in today’s complex retail environment—without overspending on talent or sacrificing strategy? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn sits down with Robert Fascia, Owner of Vandelay Strategies, and Tommy Renda, President of TCR Consulting and Partner at Vandelay Strategies, to discuss how fractional sales and strategy leadership...

What does it take to lead one of the largest retail markets at PepsiCo while staying grounded, authentic, and energized? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jenn Hahn sits down with Jackie LaPointe, Director of Retail for PepsiCo’s Southwest Market, to explore her career journey and leadership approach behind a $500M+ business spanning Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas. Jackie shares how...

What does it take to build a successful career in an industry that didn’t even exist when you started—and to continue evolving as the business scales, transforms, and accelerates? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn sits down with Mark Heitke, Head of Commerce Media Strategy at Symbiosis, a DoorDash company, to explore his unconventional career journey and the leadership less...

What does it truly take to lead at the executive level in grocery retail—and how do you build a career that grows alongside the business? To launch Season 2 of Candid with Candidates, Jennifer Hahn sits down with Kristin Popp, Executive Vice President of Woodman’s Food Market, Inc., for an in-depth conversation on leadership, career development, and long-term impact in an ever-evolving industry. W...

Leadership looks polished from the outside—but the real lessons come from the unfiltered, in-the-trenches experiences of those who’ve lived it. This episode brings you those lessons directly. Jenn Hahn brings together the most valuable, most practical, and most resonant leadership moments from six distinguished executives across retail, CPG, e-commerce, merchandising, operations, and retail media....

Season one delivered more insight, practical advice, and behind-the-scenes truth than we could possibly contain in individual episodes. So in this special mash-up episode, we pulled together the most valuable, most actionable, and most candid moments from four standout leaders across the retail, CPG, supply chain, and marketing sectors. These are the insights leaders rarely get to say out loud in...

What does it take to lead in one of the fastest-growing, high margin areas of advertising and retail? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn sits down with Claire Wyatt, GM of Client Services & Retail at The Trade Desk, to discuss her career path from would-be NASA engineer to retail media leadership and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Claire shares how she: Transit...

In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn speaks with Sheila Muniz Ebanks, Head of the Large Store Division for Coca-Cola North America, about her leadership journey from driving truck in the industry to reporting directly to the Chief Customer Officer in all of North America.  Sheila reflects on the pivotal career transitions that shaped her path—from her early days at Frito-Lay,...

What does it take to lead one of the most critical functions in grocery retail—especially when your path didn’t begin in the aisle? In this episode of Candid with Candidates, Jennifer Hahn sits down with Rebecca Lupfer, Senior Vice President and Chief Merchant at The GIANT Company, to unpack her uniquely well-rounded career journey—from internal audit and strategy to merchandising, operations, CFO...

In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jennifer Hahn speaks with Pat Mooney, Vice President of Health & Beauty Care and Non-Foods at Wakefern Food Corp.—the $21B retailer many consumers haven’t heard of, but whose unique business model has shaped regional retail in the Northeast for decades. Pat shares insights from his 16-year career journey, starting from a rotational “leader in trainin...

When your company is growing fast—and your supply chain needs to grow faster—how do you build the structure, strategy, and team to keep up? In this episode of Candid with Candidates, Jennifer Hahn speaks with Jackie Doyle, Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy and Transformation at fairlife, about what it really means to future-proof operations while scaling a business at speed. Jackie shares he...

What does it take to transform legacy retail systems into future-ready strategies—without losing sight of what matters most? In this episode of Candid with Candidates, Jenn Hahn sits down with Parag Shah, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Think Blue, to explore his journey from grocery store aisles to executive boardrooms—and now to reimagining how the industry uses data, technology, and good...

Do you feel like you’re excelling in your role but can’t really figure out how to crack the code to get to that next level?  In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jenn Hahn sits down with Andrea Wasserman, Executive Coach and Founder of The Executive Express, whose career spans leadership roles at Nordstrom, Yahoo, Verizon, and more in VP and C suite roles. Andrea brings firsthand insight fr...

Ever wonder how someone goes from mopping café floors to leading at the executive level for two powerhouse brands? In this episode of Candid with Candidates, Jenn Hahn sits down with Candace Pappas, SVP of Marketing at Blake’s Beverage Company and Blake Farms, for a no-fluff, straight-talking conversation about rising through the ranks, leading in two dynamic industries, and what happens when you...

What does it really take to build a business inside a business? In this episode of Candid with Candidates , Jenn Hahn sits down with Julian Semer,  Director of In-Store Media at Albertsons, to unpack how a finance background, entrepreneurial drive, and deep curiosity led him to one of the most innovative and fast-evolving areas in retail. Julian shares how he went from building KPI models in finan...