Donna Zambo: The Future is Now

This episode explores Donna Zambo’s, VP, Chief Marketing Officer for Allegiance Retail Services, remarkable journey in the grocery industry, highlighting her passion for food, community, and innovation. Donna shares her insights on leadership, technology, and the evolving grocery landscape.

• Donna’s early grocery experiences shaped her connection to the industry 
• The impact of personal stories on professional paths 
• Technology's role in enhancing the grocery shopping experience 
• The importance of mentorship and women’s empowerment in grocery 
• Leadership centered around empathy and team care 
• Embracing innovation for a transformative retail future

Whether you're a seasoned professional or an aspiring leader, this episode is packed with insights and advice to help you navigate and thrive in the ever-evolving world of grocery retail. Be sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review, and suggest future guests whose stories and expertise you’d love to hear.

Chapters

• 0:03 Women Leading in Independent Grocery Industry
• 8:09 Future Transformation in Grocery Industry
• 16:47 Industry Appreciation and Collaboration

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to Grocery From Her Seat. The WGA podcast, offering a unique perspective as seen through the eyes of remarkable women who shape and lead in the independent grocery industry. Your host, Kristen Popp, president of WGA, will bring you exclusive stories and insights from the women serving our industry, from presidents to CEOs, to entrepreneurs and students. This podcast is your source of information. Now listen, take notes and welcome Kristen Popp.

Speaker 2: 0:33

I am your host, kristen Popp, and today I have the opportunity to chat with Donna Zambow, vp, chief Marketing Officer with Allegiance Retail Services. Welcome to Grocery From your Seat, donna, and thank you so very much for sharing your time with us today.

Speaker 3: 0:47

Well, thank you so much, Kristen, for having me. I'm really excited to be here and talk with you.

Speaker 2: 0:52

Donna, I gave your title, but can you introduce yourself a little bit more, your role and then how you got involved to be in the grocery industry, specifically the independent industry?

Speaker 3: 1:02

Sure, I would love to. So I have been in the grocery business for over 35 years now. I started as an intern in the market research department for Pathmark. Ever since then I've worked part-time as I finished college and then worked full-time in research, working for Pathmark for over 20 years and then, when Pathmark was acquired by A&P, I had moved over to Wake Fern, which is a retailer-owned cooperative, and I had worked at Wake Fern for 10 years and I absolutely loved working for members and for independents. I always say I love working for Main Street rather than Wall Street. I've been with Allegiance for just over six years now. We are a retailer-owned cooperative in the metro New York area. We have about 140 stores, about 30 members or independent owners that we support here, and my role, my primary responsibilities, are the IT, both in-house, our office, it infrastructure, development, applications as well as cybersecurity, as well as supporting our store teams and our point of sale and our retail technology and retail innovation. I have oversight to also our e-commerce and also advertising, marketing and loyalty.

Speaker 2: 2:23

What a big role you have going on there.

Speaker 3: 2:25

What I really love about my role because I get to oversee marketing and IT it's a combination of left brain, right brain, but the team that I have oversight to is very diverse, that we kind of push and pull each other the IT and the marketing team yeah, it makes it fun and it really, as I said, it stretches both sides of my brain every day.

Speaker 2: 2:44

I love the diversity in your responsibilities. When we were kind of prepping for this conversation, you shared some inspiration on how you got involved in the grocery industry. Do you mind sharing your story growing up? What really inspired you?

Speaker 3: 2:59

Growing up, I grew up with a family of eight, so six children my parents had and my father had, you know, lost his job. He actually was in a fire at the plant and was in the hospital the entire summer with burns all over his body. My grandparents would help our family out and the way that my grandmother, you know, showed her support and her love of our family was she would go food shopping and she would take us food shopping. Support and her love of our family was she would go food shopping and she would take us food shopping. And when she came into the house and would unpack the groceries, she was so proud of them and would say, oh, look at mommy, look at this meat. And oh, look at this, doesn't this look wonderful? And we would all gather around the table and watch her unpack the groceries.

Speaker 3: 3:39

They were toys and this was the way that she showed her love and her support for our family. And this was the way that she showed her love and her support for our family. And to this day, you know, if I get in an argument with my husband or something with my children, the first thing I want to do is run to the grocery store, buy something for them and cook something for them, to show my love for them. I just think it's something that's part of our day-to-day and sometimes we take it for granted. You know that the grocery stores are there for us all the time and a part of our community, but it's such an important part of our lives. Sharing food is really how you share love with family.

Speaker 2: 4:11

And I think you call it a good point there. When we do this in our day-to-day, we sometimes do take for granted the impact that this really does have on our communities. Thank you for sharing that. So let's talk about some of the things that you're most proud of in your career.

Speaker 3: 4:26

I would say, having the opportunity to work in technology and digital marketing, to be a part of the first to launch a lot of new technology or consumer-facing technology for consumers.

Speaker 3: 4:38

So, you know, whether it be mobile shopping applications or new retail innovation that helps shoppers, those are things that I get excited about because they are changing the way that people shop and live. I'm also very proud of the fact that here at Allegiance, I am the first executive female in this company and I'm very proud of that. And I also know that it comes with a responsibility and I want many, many more to follow. And I would also say that I think what I'm really most proud of are some of the team members that I have helped develop to see them get promoted, to see them advance in their careers. I've watched so many associates be promoted one, two, three times. Of course, the associate is doing the work, but if there was anything that I was able to do to help them and support them, proud of that because I want to really enable folks to achieve everything they can in their career, I'm very proud of that because I want to really enable folks to achieve everything they can in their career, I'm very proud of that.

Speaker 2: 5:40

I couldn't agree with you more how powerful and impactful that can be. So you talk about technology, you talk about marketing. Those are all very relevant today, but can we talk for a minute about what excites you the most, about the future of the industry?

Speaker 3: 5:53

I would say there's a lot of things that excite me. The technology that's coming at retail for consumer use smart carts or additional AI tools for consumers really think it's going to transform how people shop in the store and it's also making the store more relevant with the threat of e-commerce. Anything that we can bring to the store to make the store more exciting, remove friction for consumers that they get excited about coming to the store. I think that's a good thing. We embrace e-commerce and I'm all for e-commerce because I think that consumers want e-commerce. There's occasions for when you know folks want to order online, but I also think that people like to go out as well and you know, see folks at the supermarkets and you know, see their community and their neighbors. And anything from a technology standpoint that we can bring to the store to make it more exciting and make it a more fun shop is what I get excited about?

Speaker 2: 6:52

I mean the experience. That's what sets individuals and organizations aside. Is the experience that you provide for the individuals that's visiting or choosing to visit your stores Very much excitement around what that can look like and how that can be enhanced. So, Donna, as we continue to talk about your career, who are some of the individuals that have had a lasting impact on you, and can you share what that impact has been and how that's affected you in your journey forward?

Speaker 3: 7:18

You know there's some personal folks that have had a big impact. My family, my husband, is such a strong supporter of me, he's my biggest cheerleader and I'm not just saying that, my children. I would say, first, my father was the hardest working person. You know that I ever knew and he was also, in my mind, the funniest.

Speaker 3: 7:39

And people say that you women get their work ethic and their sense of humor from their father, and so I hope that that was the case for me because, again, he was the hardest working and I would say, from a work ethic standpoint, I think about him as I, you know, put my full day in and then some. So he's definitely inspired me and also not to take myself too seriously and that you know, have fun and it's always good to laugh. From an industry standpoint, here at Allegiant the members have had such a huge influence and impact on me. One particular member, noah Katz. He is the chair of our Advertising and Technology Committee and I work very closely with him and he has probably taught me so much in this last six or seven years industry, the grocery, at store level, operations at store level operations, loyalty technology, how it impacts the stores he's just been really inspirational to me.

Speaker 2: 8:43

Has any of those experiences affected how you lead the teams that you are today?

Speaker 3: 8:48

Absolutely. There's someone, simon Sinek, who I watch. He says that leadership being a leader isn't about being in charge, it's about taking care of those in your charge. I think I've been fortunate to have quite a few leaders who lead, like you know, that understand it's about taking care of those in charge. They understand the role is taking care of the people and leading with empathy. I try to do as much as I can and lead in that way because, one, it's the right thing for the team and, two, at the end of the day, it's actually more effective.

Speaker 2: 9:30

Then I want to go ahead and shift gears a little bit again, and I know that you've done some work to create a women for women's group within your own organization. Can you share the work that you've done on that?

Speaker 3: 9:36

Yeah, I'm really excited about this. As I said, I am the first and only female executive from a vice president level and, as I said, my mission is to promote and develop as many associates as possible, and I want that to be women as well. I had approached my president and asked for opportunity to create a group and I developed a business plan for it and what our purpose was, and also wanted to ensure that this was a positive group, and I want to thank you, kristen, because it was WGA that really helped me trigger this idea, to bring it back to allegiance in this way, and I know that you have always said for WGA that it's about supporting women and that it's not about negativity and it's not negative about men, and I really appreciate that and I think that it's really important because I think that it's true and so that's the case that I brought forward for the Women for Women group that we're different and we need different things, and so it doesn't mean one way is right or another way is wrong. It Women group that we're different and we need different things, and so it doesn't mean one way is right or another way is wrong. It's just that we want to understand what we need and how we could support each other to be as successful as possible.

Speaker 3: 10:48

And if every woman in our organization is more successful and more productive, that's the best thing for allegiance. That's the best thing for allegiance 1,000% guts from our president, joe Fantosi, and you know no-transcript, and we together decide on the things that we want to talk about. One of the things we talked about was an idea that actually Haley had suggested a book the Code of Confidence. It really sparked a lot of conversation in the last few months. We meet monthly and, as I said, wga has been a big inspiration for me. A lot of what we talk about are inspired or come directly from WGA. I encourage anyone who's interested. I have a business case plan that was presented and very well received.

Speaker 2: 11:42

Thank you for sharing that, don. I think that the work that you've done there to help initiate that and then get it up and running is just fantastic. Both men and women have unique needs and situations that they need to be supported in that can be very different from one another right. So creating the space to allow for that to happen in those connections I think allows everybody to show up better together to achieve greater success. I thank you for all the work that you've done. That goes beyond your four walls. I think you'll see great results from that.

Speaker 3: 12:12

Thank you. Thank you, it's exciting, I would say. One of the most exciting conversations we had was one session and the summer intern and she said before she started the job that she couldn't imagine even speaking up in a meeting or having you know she was very nervous and she said, being part of the group and being part of our Women for Women meetings, that she now had the confidence to go out and speak and she learned so much. So to see the confidence like grow in someone who is just starting their career, or hasn't even started their career, was just really inspiring too.

Speaker 2: 12:53

And I think that's a great call up what that can do to allow them to carry their career was just really inspiring too, and I think that's a great call out what that can do to allow them to carry their career journey forward. And then also the ability to retain that individual within the industry and within the organization because of the support that you're providing them. Again, thank you for all of that work, thank you Looking towards the future of the industry, do you think, do you see anything in the work that you do that you think we should be keeping an eye on right now?

Speaker 3: 13:21

Generative AI, chatgbt and other tools like that, I think are really important and critical, particularly for the independents and smaller companies, because I think it allows us to play at a level that is comparable to national players when it comes to mining big data or development work or even creating content. A very low cost to really play in this field, you know, to play with these. Some of these tools are, you know, either free or even the enterprise level, for some of these are really the entry level is, you know, quite attainable for most small companies and, again, it gives us tools that put us at the same level as national players. If your team isn't playing in that space, I think it's a real missed opportunity.

Speaker 2: 14:15

Just to get your hands into. It is key, Donna. What is some advice that you have for someone aspiring to join or advance their career in the industry?

Speaker 3: 14:24

First, write down what your goals are. If you don't have a formal development plan or don't have that available for you, I would say writing it down. And for your career to advance, you have to know where you're going. You have to really write it down, or put it down and put it out there. And don't be afraid to speak to your supervisor, your manager, your vice president, your president, and say what it is you want.

Speaker 3: 14:52

Early on in my career, I was afraid to speak up and say what it was that I wanted. I thought, if I just put my head down and worked hard and to some degree that did help me to progress. But you do have to say what you want and also, you know, come up with a plan then to how you're going to get there and hold yourself accountable to get there. And then don't think you have to do it alone. Use your networking skills. Relying on others is also. I think it's a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness when you ask for help. So I found that that has helped me as well.

Speaker 2: 15:25

And I think those are two great pieces of advice.

Speaker 3: 15:28

Yeah, I do encourage every single one of my team members, when we do our reviews, to write down your goals and write down your aspirations and don't be afraid to do it.

Speaker 2: 15:38

Yeah, I think your second piece of advice too leaning into your network, leaning into others, and it's okay to not know it all, and it's okay to ask questions, and that's how we learn and grow.

Speaker 3: 15:48

Absolutely. It only took me about 35 years to learn it, though.

Speaker 2: 15:52

That's right. You can share it now and hopefully have a greater impact on somebody else, correct?

Speaker 1: 15:58

That's right, that's right.

Speaker 2: 16:00

So I'm going to throw you a little curveball here. Just a question that I had to wrap up our conversation today. If you were writing a book or creating a podcast about the industry, what would the title be?

Speaker 3: 16:10

Wow. I would say that the future is now and the reason why I say that is I feel like we've been preparing for all of this change, feel that the last few years and even the decades, we keep thinking that this, this change, is coming right with e commerce and technology. But I feel like we are right on the cusp, as I said earlier of you know huge transformational ways that folks are going to shop and the industry is going to change. You know we always say, well, in the future, this is going to happen and in the future this is going to happen. Well, I would just say the future is now and be ready.

Speaker 2: 16:47

I think that's a great title and I think it sums some things up pretty well, so I appreciate that.

Speaker 3: 16:54

No I love it.

Speaker 2: 16:55

I love it. It makes me think. Donna, thank you so very much for sharing your time and your thoughts with us today. I appreciate you, your story and your contribution to the industry.

Speaker 3: 17:08

Thank you so much, kristen, and thank you for all you do. I love your podcast and really appreciate all that you do for WGA and our industry. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1: 17:14

On behalf of the Women Grocers of America, we thank you for listening to our podcast today and ask that you subscribe, leave a five-star review and share with a friend. If you have a suggestion for a guest from the industry, mention them in the comments. Episodes are released every other week and they are sponsored by NGA, hosted by Kristen Popp, president of WGA, and published by