Bill Grize, retired Stop & Shop CEO and NEW Champion, dies
Monday, January 11, 2010
Bill Grize, 63, former president and CEO of Stop & Shop and Ahold USA and a long-time supporter of the Network, died January 5, 2010 after a brief illness.
"Bill was a great friend to this organization and a tremendous example to the retail industry,” said Network of Executive Women President Alison Kenney Paul, principal at Deloitte. "His leadership will be profoundly missed.”
Grize received the Network’s Outstanding Champion Award in 2004 from Kimberly Betts, senior manager at Deloitte and the Network's president at the time. In presenting the award she said, "Bill’s responded to every single request that we’ve ever made on behalf of the Network. He’s a true champion of NEW and a true advocate of diversity in the industry.” Grize said in reply, "It's about the people. We must do better and learn to embrace and utilize all this talent.”
Grize, who retired from Ahold in 2005, began his career at Stop & Shop in 1967 as a part-time clerk. He rose through the executive ranks and was named chief operating officer in 1994 and president in 1996. The following year he was named president and CEO of Stop & Shop. After the firm’s purchase by Royal Ahold, Grize was appointed president and CEO of Ahold USA. During his tenure, the chain’s sales grew 22 percent, according to a statement by Stop & Shop.
In 2005 the Food Marketing Institute awarded Grize the prestigious Sydney R. Rabb Award in appreciation of "exceptional service to the community, consumers and the industry.” Grize served as a trustee for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and helped support the group’s Jimmy Fund for cancer research and patient care. Under his leadership, Stop & Shop increased its support for Dana Farber and the Stop & Shop Pediatric Brain Tumor Clinic, which treats more than 500 children a year.
"Bill's passing is a great loss to the Ahold USA Retail family and the supermarket industry. His career spanned nearly four decades and his innovative ideas and strong work ethic made him an inspiration to associates across the company,” Stop & Shop said in a statement.
Grize is survived by his wife of 43 years, Emelyn, his mother Jennie of New Milford, Conn., his son William and his wife Lisa of Scituate, Mass., his daughter Dara and her husband Nisan Cohen of Gainesville, Fla., and four grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to "The Journey of Hope Campaign," to benefit the new Dana Farber, Brigham & Women's, South Shore Hospital Cancer Center, 55 Fogg Rd., South Weymouth, MA 02190.
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Julie Hamilton (left) shares a laugh at the NEW Executive Leaders Forum with Network President Alison Paul, past presidents Kim Betts and Helayne Angelus and President-Elect Michelle Gloeckler. More
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