Curiosity and the courage to do the right thing for people led an Iowa dairy farm boy to leading the supply chain that feeds Texans.

Let’s start with your H-E-B story — what brought you here?

I grew up on a dairy farm in Iowa, so I didn’t hear about H-E-B until several years ago when I was working for a large, national retailer. When they started investing in grocery and food distribution, we studied H-E-B and I visited a store in Austin. I clearly remember walking out of the H-E-B store afterwards and saying, “we’ll never be able to do that.” We even hired consultants to help us figure out the “secret” behind H-E-B’s success, and even they didn’t know.

A few years later, I was ready for a career change, and I was looking for somewhere warmer and wanted to work for a company that was privately held. One morning, I got a call from a recruiter who said, “Have you ever heard of H-E-B in San Antonio?” Of course, I recalled that benchmarking trip and everything that stood out to me about the company. H-E-B checked all my boxes, my wife was excited about the proposition, and my kids were at an age where we could pack up and move more easily. That was almost 6 years ago, and I haven’t looked back once!

At the beginning, what stood out to you about H-E-B?

H-E-B makes the news frequently because we take care of people in a crisis – and I’ve always been impressed by that. Once I joined the company, I had the opportunity to be in the Command Center during Hurricane Harvey and, while I wasn’t unfamiliar with crisis situations, I’d never seen a team operate like that – selflessness, commitment, and dedication to tackle the challenge in front of them. I had only been here two months and it was so inspiring – plus I learned a lot. That experience really accelerated my understanding of our supply chain!

The other thing that was really impressive was the leadership team during my onboarding. They abstained from guiding me any certain way until I could form my own opinions allowing me ample time to watch and understand the business, build relationships, listen, and observe the team. That was something I really appreciated from people who have been with this company a long time.

So, now that you’ve been with the company for about six years, what do you like about your job?

Developing and caring for people is the main driver behind why I do what I do, and I love that I get to spend my career at a company that shares the same heart for people that I have.

The most challenging part of my job is keeping up with the monumental growth we’re experiencing as a company right now. Growth is great – it keeps us alive and agile. In the Supply Chain specifically, growth means we have to increase capacity in our facilities to stay ahead, while hiring and retaining great Partners to help us. And, the work isn’t easy! We couldn’t do any of this without our incredible Partners. They truly are the ‘secret’ to our success.

That is a challenge – what has been the hardest day of your career so far?

The hardest day of my career so far is also my most memorable moment — the day we shut our supply chain down during the winter storm two years ago. At H-E-B, we believe people matter, and this was another time we saw that conviction in action.

That morning we were trying to anticipate the roads, and the mission and commitment to our people was “how do we get every single driver home safely.” In that moment, our only option was to shut everything down and send our drivers home. Making that decision felt like I was letting the company down, but even more like I was letting our customers down. I called Craig and Howard and explained the situation and what I thought we had to do, and they both said, “I support you.” I was blown away – I remember thinking, “Wow!” To have the support of our leaders, especially in that moment, said so much. I still get emotional thinking about it. Within hours, we knew it was the right decision. Conditions got much worse that evening, but every single one of our drivers made it home safely. When we say we’re a people-first company, we mean it. And that’s especially evident in the face of challenges, both big and small.

What did the aftermath of that decision look like?

We were down for about three days in certain areas of our business. When we finally got back up and running, I sent out a video to our team saying, “It’s our time. We’ve been down for a couple of days, and we have a lot of work to do to get caught back up. If you’re able, we need you this weekend.” We had almost 100% attendance. Our Partners don’t shy away from challenges, and it was incredible to see everyone come together to take care of each other, our customers, and the communities we serve.

What’s next for you?

Over the next 3-5 years, we’ll be working to build a supply chain network and team that’s constantly innovating and is more capable than ever. We have such an incredible team, so I know we can do it. Our Partners are the best – MWT IS THE PLACE TO BE!

What advice would you give others about working for H-E-B?

Learn how to collaborate to make great things happen with the people around you. Embrace challenges, stay curious, have a can-do attitude and treat others well and you’ll have so many opportunities for growth here.