Skogen’s Festival Foods, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has appointed Leslie Atkinson as VP of marketing, effective June 21.
With more than 20 years of marketing leadership experience, Atkinson was most recently VP of marketing with Brookshire Grocery Co., a Texas-based supermarket chain with four banners and more than 178 stores in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
Before joining Brookshire, Atkinson served nearly 14 years in a variety of marketing senior leadership roles with Ahold Delhaize USA, one of the world’s largest food retail groups. She joined Ahold Delhaize in 2004 as the executive marketing leader of the Bloom banner. Shortly after, Atkinson was director of marketing and brand development from 2005 to 2014 for the discount banner Bottom Dollar Food.
Due to the growth and success of Bottom Dollar Food, Atkinson was promoted in 2014 to lead brand positioning, marketing, media strategy and creative execution for the 1,100-store Food Lion banner.
“Leslie’s extensive knowledge of brand building and marketing will be vital to Festival Foods’ continued success, especially during this period of sustained growth,” said Randy Munns, Festival Foods EVP and COO. “We are confident Leslie will be a tremendous asset and a great fit as a member of the Festival Foods leadership team.”
“I’m thrilled to join the Festival Foods family. I deeply admire and connect with the culture and look forward to collaborating with the leadership and marketing teams to drive continued growth through a continued focus on the guest experience and associate development,” Atkinson said.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia.
Founded in 1946 as Skogen’s IGA, Festival Foods is a Wisconsin family- and employee-owned grocer that is committed to giving back to the communities it serves and to providing guests with exceptional service and value. The company, which began operating as Festival Foods in 1990, employs more than 7,500 full- and part-time associates and operates 34 full-service supermarkets across the state of Wisconsin.
