The National Grocers Association has named Mike Ridenour as chief collaboration officer and senior vice president, the trade group announced Monday.
Ridenour, who served most recently as vice president of industry relations for United Natural Foods, Inc., will help lead NGA’s efforts to build relationships with food manufacturers and other grocery industry partners. He will also look for opportunities to link NGA’s members with CPGs.
Prior to joining UNFI, Ridenour held industry relations-related positions at Kraft Heinz and the former Kraft Foods Group, where he began his career as a sales representative. He is also a former member of NGA’s board of directors.
“Throughout his 40-year career, he has built trusted relationships across the grocery ecosystem and has a unique ability to bring organizations together around shared goals,” NGA President and CEO Greg Ferrara said in a statement about Ridenour’s appointment. “His experience, credibility, and collaborative leadership style will help NGA strengthen industry engagement, create new opportunities for our members and partners, and advance our mission of advancing the $353 billion independent supermarket industry.”
NGA has recently taken steps to highlight the role its members play in the grocery industry. In May, the organization released an economic impact analysis showing that independent grocers account for more than 38% of the U.S. food retail sector’s annual sales. Independent grocers saw their collective sales grow by almost 40% between 2020 and 2024, according to NGA.
