About

Tony Sarsam
Chief Executive Officer, SpartanNash

Building on nearly four decades of experience in the food industry, Tony currently serves as CEO of SpartanNash (Nasdaq: SPTN), a food solutions company that delivers the ingredients for a better life through customer-focused innovation. He leads 17,000 Associates, serves customers in all 50 states and U.S. military troops overseas. Tony joined SpartanNash in 2020 and focuses his work on strengthening the People First culture, transforming the company’s commitment to growth, operational excellence, customer service and innovation.

Prior to joining SpartanNash, Tony served as CEO of Borden Dairy, where he led the company through a major corporate restructuring and subsequent sale that preserved jobs for all frontline employees. For his efforts, he was named one of the Most Admired CEOs in North Texas by the Dallas Business Journal, and more recently, Grand Rapids Business Journal celebrated Tony as a top “Newsmaker of the Year” in the Retail category. As a thought leader in the CPG and grocery industry, Tony is now a regular contributor to Wall Street Journal and CNBC, among other top business media publications.

Earlier, as CEO of Ready Pac Foods, Tony’s People First approach to leadership helped the company grow by more than 60%. His leadership positions have also included President of Nestlé USA Direct Store Delivery Division and Executive Vice President of Sales and Operations at Dreyer’s. Tony began his career at PepsiCo, where he started as an Associate Engineer and gained valuable insights as Plant Manager, Director of Finance and Regional Vice President for Sales and Distribution in the West. Tony proudly comes from a class of 16 former PepsiCo executives that went on to become CEOs.

Tony holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in Management from Stanford. He sits on the Board of Directors for Mission Produce and holds board positions at three non-profit organizations including the Food Marketing Institute, Arizona State University Foundation and Business Leaders for Michigan. He resides in Grand Rapids, Mich. with his wife and children, who constantly ground him and serve as a reminder that being a dad can be just as challenging as being a CEO.