You can’t ignore people in the name of mission — and that’s even more important today. Mission First, People Always.
When Juan-Carlos Rück, Executive VP of NWFD, came to work for H-E-B back in 2014 he was surprised at the parallels between selling groceries and his work as a combat engineer in the U.S Army. One thing that didn’t surprise him, though, was the sense of mission that was apparent in H-E-B’s culture, a shared sense of purpose and ownership that energized him — like what he felt alongside his unit in the military. While he’s held many roles over his career at H-E-B, he’s most excited about the company’s continued expansion into the Metroplex and the exciting opportunities that will come along with it.
Alright, let’s start with your H-E-B story…
Well, although I wasn’t born in Texas, I knew of H-E-B long before I came to work here because of my experience as a Regional Vice President of Sales for a large food, snack, and beverage corporation. My region was Texas and Oklahoma, so H-E-B fell right within my purview — in fact, they were my biggest customer, and I always admired the way they did business. Back in 2012, I was at the Tournament of Champions with my current company and had the opportunity to meet some of the executives at H-E-B — that day, I got to spend 5 hours on the golf course with Craig Boyan and I realized two things: one, Craig clearly doesn’t spend a lot of time on a golf course, and two, that day may have changed the course of my career. At the time, I was looking for something I hadn’t really had since the military — mission, and purpose — and even as an outsider I knew H-E-B had that.
After a year and a half long interview process, I was hired on and spent the first nine months learning our stores from the bottom up. Soon after, Craig comes to me and asks if I’ll lead our Warehouse and Transportation Division, which I did for three years. I then had the opportunity to lead our Manufacturing division for about a year before we combined Manufacturing, Warehouse and Transportation into one division, today led by Carson Landsgard. Then in October 2019 we started our NWFD division and that’s where I’ve been since!
Tell me a little more about your career in the military
I was a combat engineer in the Army — active duty for 5 years, most of which were spent in Ft. Hood. My unit was assigned as the test brigade for the Army’s digital transformation, which is basically learning how to fight wars and win with the aid of technology. That brigade was led by then Colonel Rick Lynch who, many years later, is now Lieutenant General retired Rick Lynch of H-E-B Operation Appreciation. It was an exciting time. Although I joke about the military not being the perfect parallel to, say, selling avocados, the experience I gained during my Army career has served me well, especially in my current role as we’re learning to adapt our business to the digital frontier.
So, you’re currently settled in DFW – How do you like it?
It’s great — in fact, it’s been one of the few places I’ve been able to really settle into. Over most of my life I’ve been a transplant with no substantial roots anywhere. My dad is a Peruvian immigrant to the United States, where he met my mom who is from Alexandria, Virginia. While I was born in New York, I spent much of my early childhood in Mexico City. From there we moved around so much that I attended 10 schools in 12 years in five countries and on four continents. Attending West Point for four years was the longest I’d really lived anywhere until recently here in North Texas. Let me just say, I love that we’ve found home here in DFW — the diversity of people and culture makes this an exciting place to be. As the largest metroplex in Texas, boasting almost 8 million people, you have access to so many different museums, sports teams, outdoor attractions, restaurants, places to go and things to do. It’s a vibrant place to live.
Just like in the military, we are all bound by purpose — we are Texans Helping Texans.
What is your favorite part of your job?
The access to all our Partners every day. I thrive on interacting with our Partners — whether that’s in a conference room with leaders, walking stores with Partners or visiting our warehouses. To be surrounded by such an amazing and diverse group of people is both inspiring and energizing.
When you’re in the military, it doesn’t really matter who you are or where you’re from, you’re all thrown together and told that your life depends on being able to work collectively as a team — and that’s no exaggeration. While H-E-B is no battlefield, and the dynamics of working for a retailer are much different than military life, what still comes through is this idea that we are all one big team, with a variety of different backgrounds and experiences, working together towards a shared goal. Just like in the military, we are all bound by purpose — we are Texans Helping Texans.
What’s the most challenging part of what you do?
Two years ago, I would have told you that the most challenging part of what I do is the level of execution that’s required to make this operation work efficiently. In retail operations and supply chain management, you’re basically at the end of the funnel of all the incredible work that H-E-B does — it all funnels down and must come alive in the store. Execution becomes more challenging the farther down you get because there are so many moving parts.
How do you get 1000 things right every day, on a razors edge, and do it with passion and joy that’s evident to the customer? You’re not just working with a few people to make something happen, you’re working with thousands of Partners who each have their own challenges and life going on. In the last two years, those challenges have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Our Partners are carrying a lot of weight on their shoulders, and we’ve got to continue making sure they are heard and taken care of – mentally and physically – so we can continue in our mission over the long haul.
How do you, as a leader at H-E-B, solve for those challenges?
While I’ve still got so much to learn, I’ve found that caring leadership is one of the most important pieces of the equation. Everyone on my team is empowered to take on the responsibility of caring for our Partners. You can’t ignore people in the name of mission — and that’s even more important today. Mission First, People Always.
What’s next for you?
Continued expansion into the Metroplex — there is so much work going on across the company to make sure we are successful in this effort.
Our horizon has Plano and Frisco opening in the Fall of 2022, and we’ll get a chance to bring the concept of ‘My H-E-B’ to a whole new set of customers who have no idea that there is room in their life for a grocery store to become something they talk about with a pronoun — it’s exciting!
Anything you can share about the Metroplex that might be exciting to Partners who are looking to relocate?
Absolutely! With entry into a new market comes a lot of career growth and opportunity – this is a chance to be a part of something new. In 1905, H-E-B was a startup. 117 years later, there’s an opportunity to enjoy that startup dynamic again as we introduce Texas’ largest metroplex, DFW, to its most beloved grocery store. There are many opportunities for career growth and development, and we’re excited that already so many of our Partners have expressed interest in relocating.
What advice would you give others about working for H-E-B?
Find your passion and let that guide your work within H-E-B. Its’s not all rainbows and cakes around here, but when you love what you do and who you get to do it with, it’s energizing. So, enjoy it and go after it!
