Springdale, Arkansas-based Harps Food Stores Inc. has appointed J. Max Van Hoose as president of the company.
Van Hoose is a Northwest Arkansas native and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1991 with a degree in industrial engineering. In 1997, after earning his MBA at the University of Kansas, Van Hoose returned to Arkansas to join Harps Food Stores as director of construction and equipment.
In 2002, Van Hoose was named VP of store planning and then later to EVP. He continues to oversee store development, acquisitions, construction and real estate activities for Harps.
Van Hoose has been involved with the Springdale Rotary Club, serving as its president in 2006 and with the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, serving as chairman in 2012. He is a member of the University of Arkansas’s Academy of Industrial Engineers and serves on the board of directors for the Missouri Grocers Association. He also serves as a commissioner on the Springdale Water and Sewer Commission. He and his wife Kelley reside in Springdale with their two daughters.
“J. Max has demonstrated his value to Harps in a great many ways during his tenure as EVP, and I am very happy to see this well-deserved promotion take place,” states Kim Eskew, chairman and CEO of Harps.
Harps is a 100 percent employee-owned company that operates 120 stores in four states including: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. Harps is the largest employee-owned company in the state of Arkansas and was founded by Harvard and Floy Harp in Springdale, Arkansas in 1930. The company has more than 5,500 employees.
For additional information and company history, visit harpsfood.com.
