Meet Publix's new CEO
Todd Jones is the new CEO of Publix Super Markets. (GateHouse Florida / 2015 / Pierre DuCharme)
Published: Friday, April 1, 2016 at 2:01 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, April 1, 2016 at 2:01 p.m.
Nineteen-eighty was a far more significant year for Publix Super Markets than anyone at the grocery chain could have realized at the time.
■ Bar-code scanners were introduced at its 234 locations throughout the state.
■ In a thoroughly unheralded personnel move, the chain hired Todd Jones, its future CEO, to bag groceries in New Smyrna Beach.
Jones — who became the company's president in 2008 — will succeed CEO Ed Crenshaw, grandson of Publix founder George W. Jenkins, on April 30.
Publix declined to make Jones available for interviews. But this is how Terry Worthington, executive vice president for United Way of Florida, said Jones' start bagging groceries has informed his career.
“One of the things that is very impressive about him is that he started in an entry-level position at Publix and worked his way up on the strength of his incredible work ethic and intellect,” Worthington said. “He is very intense, very deliberate, and he's totally committed to the Publix culture.”
Mike McGee, chairman of the board for the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce, said, “I've been told by several Publix employees that he'll go into a store without notice and start bagging groceries or straightening out the shelves. That tells people what he's willing to do and how far he'll go to find out if there's anything he can do to help the company at every level.”
Randall Todd Jones Sr., 53, is the first person outside of Publix's founding family to be the company's CEO.
George Jenkins was CEO until 1990 and was succeeded by his son, Howard, who held the position until 2001. Charlie Jenkins Jr., Howard's cousin, was CEO from 2001 to 2008, when Crenshaw took over.
He is not be related to Publix's founding family by blood, but industry analysts say he absolutely fits in as the company's new leader.
“Todd bleeds Publix green, and I don't envision Publix losing any ground with the change in leadership,” said Lorrie Griffith, editor of The Shelby Report, a monthly publication that focuses on the food distribution and supermarket industry. “Todd and Ed have been running the company in tandem since Todd was named president, with Todd as more the operational chief and Ed as more the relational leader with employees and the industry.”
David Livingston, a Wisconsin-based independent supermarket consultant, wasn't at all surprised that Publix chose an internal candidate as its new CEO.
“Publix is like a cult, and many of their people are lifers,” Livingston said. “Publix is not the kind of company where you work your way up from the outside.
“You work your way up from within.”
His start
Jones worked in several capacities before becoming a store manager in 1988. He continued to make his way up the company ladder, becoming district manager in 1997, regional director in 1999, and vice president of the Jacksonville division in 2003.
In 2005, Jones was named senior vice president of product business development.
In explaining why Jones would not be available to be interviewed for this article, spokeswoman Maria Brous said, “At this time, Todd's focus is on spending as much time with Ed as he can to prepare for the transition. In addition, he's still focused on the daily operation of the business.”
But over the years, industry analysts say, Jones and the rest of Publix's top brass have kept their cards very close to the vest.
“When I meet Publix execs at conferences, they listen but don't talk,” Livingston said. “They listen to everything we say but tell us nothing about themselves. If they do talk, it's never about anything in the supermarket business.”
A detail-oriented leader and guitar player
And they do listen. Griffith, of the Shelby Report, said she met Jones for the first time last fall during a tour of the Lake Miriam Square store in Lakeland.
“It was amazing how many employees and customers in that store he called by their first name,” Griffith said. “People within the Publix organization and Publix vendors who have worked with him know him to be a passionate, detail-oriented leader who loves to interact with people.”
Seth McKeel — the former state representative who is managing partner for the Southern Strategy Group lobbying firm in Tampa — said he became friends with Jones shortly after Jones, his wife, Suzette, and their two children move to Lakeland in the mid-2000s.
“Todd is a wonderful guy, and he embodies everything that is awesome about Publix culture,” McKeel said. “He loves fishing and he loves playing the guitar. He's watched with interest as my own son has picked up and played the guitar.”
Alan Turner, president and CEO of the Highland City-based United Way of Central Florida, got to know Jones when he moved to Lakeland about a year ago. “With Lakeland being a smaller community we see each other at local events, and he's always very personable and approachable. He's very committed to keeping Publix engaged with the communities they serve.”
In February, the United Way announced Publix had pledged more than $4.5 million to the United Way of Central Florida and $58.7 million to United Way sites throughout the country.
Worthington, who was president of United Way of Central Florida for 18 years, said Jones and Publix are equally as charitable with their time.
“Whenever I needed help with the planning or direction of the United Way, I went to see Todd because he's known within Publix as a very strategic thinker,” Worthington said. “I felt fortunate that a man who is responsible for a company with almost 180,000 employees always had time for the local United Way.”
According to Publix's website, the company has 1,111 stores and employs more than 179,000 people.
According to a financial report released this month, Publix had $32.4 billion in sales in 2015, which broke the previous year's sales record of $30.6 billion by almost 6 percent. That previous sales figure was good enough to land the chain at No. 101 on Fortune magazine's annual ranking of the top 500 U.S. based companies by revenue.
The company recently announced it would expand into Virginia, making it the chain's seventh state in which it operations. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the first Publix Pharmacy, and the company is fast approaching 1,000 locations.
Worthington has no doubt Jones is the right choice to continue Publix's prosperous period.
“I meet a lot of people in leadership roles, and I believe there's no individual who is better equipped to continue the great work of Publix management,” Worthington.
“He'll carry on where Ed leaves off.”
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