Harps Food Stores has appointed Debbie Creek as VP of finance and John Taylor as VP of information systems, moves that follow the retirement of Jim Antz, who had served as the SVP of finance and CFO for 37 years.
Creek joined Harps in 2006 as controller and played a role in overseeing day-to-day financial operations during the company’s growth from 52 stores to 149.
Raised on a dairy farm in Clifty, Arkansas, Creek is a licensed CPA and a certified fraud examiner. She is also serves on the Springdale School Board.
Creek expressed gratitude for her 18 years of mentorship under Jim Antz. “I am honored that I got to work with Jim Antz as my boss, mentor and friend,” she said.
Taylor, a Northwest Arkansas native, has a long history with Harps Food Stores, starting as a high school sacker in 1992. Joining Harps again in 2001, he climbed the ranks from programmer/analyst to director of information systems in 2012.
“I am so thankful to work for such a great company,” he said. “I look forward to taking on this new role and responsibilities.”
Kim Eskew, chairman and CEO for Harps, said he was saddened to lose “both a good friend and a great contributor” in Antz but is “encouraged to know that we have developed a bench within our company of talented people who understand and embrace our culture and who have prepared themselves for this moment.”
“Both of these individuals have done that and while I will miss Jim, I am confident that he left us in good hands with both John on the information systems side and Debbie on the financial side of his considerable knowledge of both areas,” Eskew said.
About Harps Food Stores
Harps is a 100 percent employee-owned company that has more than 7,200 associates across 149 stores in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma. It was founded by Harvard and Floy Harp in Springdale, Arkansas in 1930.
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